County success for Linslade Crusaders swimmers

Linslade Crusaders Swimming Club’s 2020 Bedfordshire County and Age Group Championships got underway on Saturday, January 18 with the 1500m freestyle where Clara Foster won the first medal for the club, a silver in the 13 years age group in a time of 20.58.36 and Sam Mead (17/over) placed 4th (18.33.43).

The second of the distance events, the 800m freestyle took place on Friday 24th January with Clara picking up another silver medal in 10.50.22 , Billy Mead placing 6th in the 15 years age group in 10.19.47 and his brother Sam swam 9.41.23 to place 4th.

Two full weekends of competition followed with the men’s 200m freestyle starting things off on Saturday 25th January with Jack Beer (10/11 years) winning a bronze medal in a time of 2.49.04 with Lucas Krynauw 5th. In the 12 years age group Lewis Masson placed 7th, Edward Jackson 8th and George Foster 14th with Lewis Sweetlove (13) 15th and Toby Sugars (14) 8th. Billy Mead and Thomas Keane (15) placed 6th and 10th respectively and Louis Hemming and William Taylor (16) achieved 6th and 9th. Thomas Pickering (17/overs) won silver in a time of 1.58.77 and Sam Mead and William March placed 7th and 10th respectively. Thomas was subsequently presented with the 200m freestyle Senior Championship silver medal. Next up were the boys in the 400m Individual Medley, with Edward Jackson (12) winning bronze in 7.00.51 and Gabriel Layzell (15) placing 4th in 5.49.59.

The women’s 100m backstroke saw Ella Evans (16) placing 19th in the heats. There were several finalists with Maia Thompson placing 6th in the 12 years age group, Bethany Hamer 4th and Clara Foster 7th in the 13 years and Rebecca Knibb finishing 7th in the 17/overs. The excitement continued in the men’s 50m breaststroke where Rupert Versallion (13) placed 16th in the heats and swimmers added to the medal tally in the finals with Jack Beer winning silver and Lucas Krynauw a bronze in times of 44.74 and 44.75 respectively in the 10/11 years finals. In the 15 years age group Billy Knibb brought home the gold with a time of 33.13 which made him Junior Champion and won him The Leighton Buzzard Cup, and Billy Mead just missed out on the medals in 4th. Ashton Neo continued the medal haul with a bronze in 33.84 and Ethan Gell placed 6th both in the 16 years age group. In the 17/overs Daniel Hill did not disappoint with a hard-fought silver in 31.08, a time that also won him silver in The Senior Championship, with team mate Sam Mead 7th.

The afternoon session saw the women’s 200m Individual Medley where Jemima Kimber and Maia Thomson placed 7th and 16th in the 12 years age group and in the 13 years Clara Foster placed 6th and Bethany Hamer 8th and Skye Bunyard and Millie Hughes placed 6th and 18th respectively in the 14 years age group.

The men’s 50m freestyle finals were fast and furious with Jack Beer and Lucas Krynauw (10/11) placed 4th and 5th, Lewis Masson and Edward Jackson (12) 4th and 8th respectively and in the 15 years, Jack Hill, Billy Mead and Billy Knibb were 5th, 7th and 8th. Thomas Pickering was in the medals again in the 17/overs with a silver in a time of 24.37 which also won him silver in The Senior Championship. Following on from the boys were the women’s 100m butterfly finals with Evie Holmes and Jemima Kimber 5th in the 10/11 and 12 years age groups and Clara Foster (13) 7th.

Following on from the finals was the first relays session. First up were the 4 x 50m medley relay teams which saw the men’s 10/11 year team of George Worsfold, Lucas Krynauw, Jack Beer and Ewan Gothard bring home a dominant gold in a time of 2.50.44. Not to be outdone the women’s 10/11 years team of Holly Katasi, Libby Whiting, Evie Holmes and Francesca Thompson won bronze in a time of 2.54.17. The men’s 12/13 team of Harley Samuels, Rupert Versallion, Edward Jackson and Lewis Masson picked up an unfortunate dq but the men’s 12/13 years team of Bethany Hamer, Clara Foster, Jemima Kimber and Emma Layzell placed 7th. The men’s 14/15 years team of Jack Hill, Billy Knibb, Billy Mead and Daniel Miller continued with the medals winning an impressive gold in a time of 2.01.42. There were two girls 14/15 years teams with 6th place for Grace Barlow, Hollie Tomlinson, Skye Bunyard and Mia Sibley and 9th place for Gwen Firoozmand, Millie Hughes, Imogen Entwistle and Ellie Sillar. The men’s open teams of Thomas Pickering, Daniel Hill, William March and Sam Mead fought hard to win silver in a time of 1.52.03 with the second team in this age group of Ethan Gell, Ashton Neo, Finn Bunyard and Jude Gore placing 7th.

Sunday started with the women’s 400m Freestyle with Jemima Kimber and Maia Thompson placing 9th and 10th respectively in the 12 year age group. Clara Foster continued with the medals winning a silver in the 13 year age group in a time of 5.16.01 with Bethany Hamer 5th and Gwen Firoozmand (14) 11th. The men’s 200m breaststroke saw medals continue to be won with Lucas Krynauw winning bronze in the 10/11 years closely followed by Jack Beer in 4th. Lewis Masson and Joseph Finnerty (12) placed 7th and 10th and Billy Knibb, Gabriel Layzell and Tomos Clarke placing 4th, 9th and 10th respectively. In the 16 years age group Ashton Neo added to the medals with a bronze in a time of 2.52.51 with William Taylor 7th. Sam Mead narrowly missed out on the medals placing 4th and William March was 6th in the 17/overs.

The finals of the session started with the women’s 100m freestyle with Libby Whiting and Holly Katasi placing 4th and 8th in the 10/11 years age group with Skye Bunyard (14) 6th. The 50m backstroke finals started with a bang where Jack Beer won gold in a time of 37.61 and Lucas Krynauw was 5th in the 10/11 years and in the 12 years age group Edward Jackson placed 7th and George Foster was 8th. The 15 years finals were closely fought with Jack Hill winning gold in 30.49, Billy Knibb winning bronze in 31.30 and Billy Mead 7th. Ethan Gell continued to add to the medals winning silver in the 16 years age group in 30.48 with Louis Hemming 7th. In the 17/overs the medal success continued with Thomas Pickering winning gold in 27.29, a time which qualifies him for British Championships later this year, Daniel Hill narrowly missed out on the medals placing 4th and Sam Mead was 7th. There was further podium success in The Junior and Senior 50m backstroke Championships with Jack Hill winning gold and The Munford Cup and Thomas also winning gold and The Bedfordshire ASA Cup.

The morning session finished on a new event to the championships, the 4 x 50m mixed freestyle relays and first up were the 10/11 years team of Jack Beer, Lucas Krynauw, Grace Robinson and Riley Emerton who won silver in 2.20.92. The 12/13 years team of Edward Jackson, Lewis Masson, Bethany Hamer and Clara Foster placed 8th and the 14/15 years team of Billy Knibb, Jack Hill, Skye Bunyard and Mia Sibley just missed out on a medal placing 4th.

After the break the first of the afternoon’s events was the men’s 200m backstroke where Jack Beer won gold in 3.06.23 and Lucas Krynauw placed 4th in the 10/11 years. In the 12 years age group Lewis Masson and Edward Jackson placed 7th and 8th respectively and Toby Sugars, Jack Rickard and Conor Hemming were 5th, 8th and 11th in the 14 years age group. In the 15 years age group Jack Hill won silver in 2.26.12 and Billy Knibb the bronze in 2.28.31 with Billy Mead, Thomas Keane and Gabriel Layzell 7th, 8th and 9th. It was silver and bronze for Ethan Gell and Ashton Neo in 2.33.30 and 2.33.79 respectively in the 16 years age group with Louis Hemming 5th. In the 17/overs Thomas Pickering just missed out on a medal placing 4th and returning to the podium were Jack Hill and Billy Knibb who received silver and bronze in The Junior Championship.

The women’s 100m breaststroke finals saw Libby Whiting place 5th in the 10/11 years, Jemima Kimber (12) 6th and Rebecca Knibb winning bronze in 1.20.61 in the 17/overs. Ethan Janes (16) narrowly missed out on a place in the men’s 50m butterfly finals placing 10th in the heats and the finals saw Jack Beer (10/11) win gold in 37.75 and Lewis Masson (12) place 8th. In the 15 years age group Billy Mead narrowly missed out on a medal placing 4th and Billy Knibb and Daniel Miller were 7th and 8th with Ethan Gell (16) winning silver in 28.73. Thomas Pickering was pipped to a silver medal in the 17/overs in 25.81, his second British Championships qualifying time and a further silver medal in The Senior Championship.

Finishing the session were the men’s 4 x 100m medley relay team of Thomas Pickering, Daniel Hill, William March and Sam Mead who won a silver medal in a time of 4.08.14.

The following weekend started with the women’s 200m freestyle where Jemima Kimber and Maia Thompson placed 7th and 10th in the 12 years age group. Clara Foster and Bethany Hamer (13) placed 5th and 6th respectively along with Skye Bunyard who placed 4th in the 14 years age group with Millie Hughes finishing in 16th. Billy Mead and William March followed up in the gruelling 200m butterfly with great success, Billy (15) won silver in 2.39.54 and William (17/overs) a bronze in 2.28.49 which ensured they returned to the podium with them both winning bronze in The Junior and Senior Championships. The girls then followed in the equally gruelling 400m Individual Medley with Jemima Kimber 7th in the 12 years age group and Clara Foster (13) won a sensational silver in 6.01.31.

The first of the session’s finals was the Men’s 100m backstroke with Jack Beer and Lucas Krynauw winning the first of the medals with a gold and silver in the 10/11 years in 1.24.13 and 1.26.98 respectively. Lewis Masson, Edward Jackson and Joseph Finnerty were 5th, 6th and 8th in the 12 years age group and Harley Samuels (13) placed 6th. There were further medals in the 15 year age group with Jack Hill winning gold (1.05.79) and Billy Knibb the bronze (1.06.39) with Thomas Keane 8th and in the 16 years age group Ethan Gell won silver in 1.07.03 with Ashton Neo just missing out on a medal placing 4th with Louis Hemming 7th. In the 17/overs Thomas Pickering picked up another gold in 59.20 with Finn Bunyard 7th. Returning to the podium, in the Junior Championship, Jack Hill was awarded gold and The Canvin Cup and Billy Knibb the bronze, and in The Senior Championship, Thomas won gold and The Hugh Murray Cup along with gaining his third British Championships qualifying time, which will also serve as an Olympic qualifying event.

To follow it was the finals of the women’s 50m butterfly finals with Evie Holmes continuing the medals winning gold in the 10/11 years age group in 37.89 with Holly Katasi 4th. Jemima Kimber placed 6th in the 12 years age group with Bethany Hamer (13) 8th and in the 14 years age group Skye Bunyard placed 6th.

The afternoon session saw the medals continue in the men’s 200m individual medley with Jack Beer winning silver in the 10/11 year age group in 3.10.34 and Lewis Masson taking the bronze in the 12 years age group in 3.04.19 with Edward Jackson 6th. In the 15 year age group Billy Knibb won bronze in 2.30.85 with Billy Mead, Thomas Keane and Gabriel Layzell placed 7th, 9th and 11th respectively and William Taylor (16) 10th. Thomas Pickering added to his medals winning gold in the 17/overs in 2.14.02 with Sam Mead 6th. On the podium, Billy Knibb received bronze in The Junior Championship and Thomas Pickering was awarded gold in The Senior Championship and The WG Durrant Challenge Cup.

It was then the turn of the women in the 50m breaststroke finals with Libby Whiting placing 5th in the 10/11 years age group, Jemima Kimber (12) 8th, Clara Foster (13) 4th, Skye Bunyard (14) 7th and Rebecca Knibb placing 4th in the 17/overs. The men’s 100m butterfly finals saw Jack Beer win silver in the 10/11 years age group in 1.31.90 and in the 12 years age group Lewis Masson won silver in 1.33.73, Edward Jackson was pipped to 4th and Cameron Gell placed 6th with Harley Samuels (13) 7th. Billy Mead won bronze in 1.07.29 with Gabriel Layzell 8th in the 15 years age group and Ethan Gell (16) and William March (17/overs) both 4th. Returning to the podium was Billy Mead who won bronze in the 100m Butterfly Junior Championship.

The session ended with the 4 x 50m freestyle relays with the women’s and men’s 10/11 years teams of Evie Holmes, Libby Whiting, Holly Katasi and Francesca Thompson, and Jack Beer, Lucas Krynauw, Ewan Gothard and George Worsfold both narrowly missing out on the medals placing 4th. In the 12/13 years age group Bethany Hamer, Clara Foster, Jemima Kimber and Maia Thompson placed 6th and Edward Jackson, Lewis Masson, Lewis Sweetlove and Harley Samuels placed 7th. In the 14/15 years Skye Bunyard, Ellie Sillar, Millie Hughes and Mia Sibley placed 6th and Grace Barlow, Gwen Firoozmand, Hollie Tomlinson and Charlotte Keane placed 10th with the men’s teams of Billy Knibb, Jack Hill, Thomas Keane and Billy Mead battling hard to win a silver medal in 1.50.27 and Sean Cousins, Gabriel Layzell, Tomos Clarke and Toby Sugars placed 8th. Finally the men’s open team of Thomas Pickering, Daniel Hill, Sam Mead and Finn Bunyard narrowly missed out on a medal placed 4th.

Sunday 2nd February saw the final day of competition which started with the men’s 400m freestyle where Lucas Krynauw (10/11) and Louis Hemming (16) both placed 4th with Thomas Pickering picking up a bronze in the 17/overs in 4.22.83. Thomas returned to the podium where he was awarded the bronze in The Senior Championship of the event. The women’s 200m breaststroke saw Libby Whiting (10/11) 4th and Jemima Kimber, Phoebe Ryan, Maia Thompson and Audrey Hughes placing 5th, 8th, 10th, 15th respectively in the 12 year age group. Sophie Jacobs (13) placed 9th and Gwen Firoozmand, Millie Hughes and Hollie Tomlinson placed 10th, 17th and 19th in the 14 years age group, with Rebecca Knibb (17/overs) winning silver in 2.57.63.

The men’s 100m freestyle finals saw Jack Beer win gold in 1.14.84 and Lucas Krynauw 6th in the 10/11 years age group. Lewis Masson and Edward Jackson were 4th and 6th respectively in the 12 years age group and Billy Knibb, Jack Hill and Billy Mead 5th, 6th and 7th in the 15 years final. Ethan Gell won the 16 years bronze in 58.97 and Thomas Pickering (17/overs) won a further silver in 53.24 which also won him silver in The Senior Championship. The women’s 50m backstroke heats saw Ella Evans (16) finish in 17th place with several finals qualifiers. Holly Katasi and Libby Whiting placed 6th and 7th in the 10/11 years final. Maia Thompson (12) was 8th and Bethany Hamer (13) and Sky Bunyard (14) both placed 6th. The final event of the session was the second of the new events, the 4 x 50m mixed medley relay where Jack Beer, Lucas Krynauw, Evie Holmes and Libby Whiting (10/11) won gold in 2.40.27. Bethany Hamer, Clara Foster, Edward Jackson and Lewis Masson (12/13) placed 9th and the 14/15 years team of Grace Barlow, Billy Knibb, Billy Mead and Skye Bunyard and the Open team of Thomas Pickering, Rebecca Knibb, William March and Kya Wright were both 5th.

The last session of the Championships saw the women’s 200m backstroke with Holly Katasi winning bronze in 3.12.83 and Libby Whiting placed 5th in the 10/11 years age group. Jemima Kimber and Sophie Roberts (12) placed 11th and 15th with Clara Foster and Bethany Hamer (13) winning gold and bronze in 2.42.94 and 2.46.95 respectively with Sophie Jacobs and Emma Layzell finishing 10th and 19th. In the 14 year age group Millie Hughes, Gwen Firoozmand, Charlotte Keane and Grace Barlow were 5th, 10th, 16th and 19th and Mia Sibley (15) and Rebecca Knibb (17/overs) placed 5th and 7th.

Following on from the heats were the men’s 100m breaststroke finals with Lucas Krynauw winning bronze in 1.40.10 and Jack Beer 4th in the 10/11 years final. In the 15 years, Billy Knibb won silver in 1.14.60 with Billy Mead 4th. Ashton Neo (16) won bronze in 1.17.61 and Daniel Hill won silver in 1.09.74 with Sam Mead 6th in the 17/overs. Returning to the podium were Billy Knibb and Daniel Hill who were both awarded silver in The Junior and Senior Championships respectively. Next up were the women’s 50m freestyle finals where Evie Holmes won silver in 34.70 with Libby Whiting 7th both in the 10/11 years. Bethany Hamer (13) was 6th, Skye Bunyard (14) 5th and Rebecca Knibb (17/overs) 8th.

The final event of the Championships were the men’s open 4 x 100m freestyle relays where Thomas Pickering, Daniel Hill, Sam Mead and William March swam an outstanding race to win bronze in 3.47.80.

The Championships concluded with the presentation of the overall age group medals with Jack Beer presented with gold in the 11 years boys and Evie Holmes with the bronze in the 11 years girls age groups.