50 Kendal swimmers travelled to Barrow for the Open Gala and took on clubs from across the North West.

With such a high standard and the fierce competition emerging, Kendal was magnificent, coming away with a total of 17 Gold medals, backed up by a host of Silvers and Bronze.

Young George Kinnear was praised for his performance and entered four events. He had the proud distinction of winning everyone. He got off the mark with a stunning victory in the 50 Backstroke, leading them out and placing himself in a position to bid for success.

Out of his turn with Elliot Dart challenging he began to wind it up and a final burst brought him a fine win.

Another battle with club mate Dart in the 50 Butterfly saw both swimmers working hard and forcing the pace. Once again it was Kinnear who got ahead and with a supreme effort surging through for another win. His hat trick came following a terrific display.

Carlisle’s Oscar Wharton got in the mix and with Dart again in there they matched each other stroke for stroke. Out of the turn Kinnear had to dig deep and in a storming finish just managed to snatch victory.

His final victory came from superb all-round swimming in the 100 Individual Medley against another club mate Adam Wojtacki. Both boys were outstanding and in the final length Kinnear managed to pull ahead and take the gold.

Once again, the brilliance of James Escombe came to the fore when he took gold from his three events, displaying too much skill and technique for his opponents.

At both Butterfly and Backstroke, he took it on and forged ahead and burned off the opposition to come through and win both events. His 100 Individual Medley called on all his talents as Ulverston’s Gyoktug Molla matched him length upon length. In an exciting finish Escombe got the touch to win by a fraction of a second. Up and coming Jake Smith did the double with gold winning swims at 100 Freestyle and 100 Individual Medley.

His Freestyle saw him take an early lead with power and superb technique moved ahead for a clear victory. His Medley however was a different story, mixing it with Penrith’s Charlie Hall.

Smith produced another injection of pace bursting through the pressure zone to win by a second.

There then followed a run of eight single gold medallists all producing outstanding efforts.

These were Owain Heathcote Jones in 50 Butterfly, Max Ainsworth in 100 Breaststroke, Isabelle Wall-Budden in 100 Individual Medley, Alex Walton in 50 Freestyle, Charlotte Stainer in 100 Butterfly, Kara Van Der Merwe, Jarno Stander in 50 Butterfly and Alex Wood in 100 Breaststroke.

The swimmers are now looking forward to their next external Gala being held at Blackpool.