2022 British Championships Review
It's been a long, hard slog to get to the end of the 2022 season. Emerging from a pandemic dangerously low on numbers and with the complication of an important and necessary club merger to implement was daunting enough. Add to the mix the unexpected departure of a long term coach; feeder clubs struggling to find swimmers from learn to swim, to the extent that we've only received five from our clubs in three years; and a main training pool with a serious humidity problem (thankfully now fixed), and you have arguably the most difficult year this century.
With a lot of hard work though, we've come out of it ranked as Yorkshire's 3rd club at British Summer Championships, and 2nd best short-course programme in the entire North East (edit: probably top SC programme, as all those above us have weekly LC time slots even if not permanently based there). A massive achievement given the circumstances and a good stepping stone to the future.
The top of the table highlights just how tough Yorkshire Swimming is. The only competitors Sheffield and Leeds have in that top 5 are a couple of private schools throwing scholarships around with abandon (Mount Kelly and Millfield) and Loughborough University. Sheffield's own university programme is one of the best in the country, attracting top talent from all over to win medals in age groups we rarely have swimmers to compete in.
From the non-Yorkshire part of the North East, only Newcastle Swim Team and the combined might of Northumberland and Durham's 14 club merged performance programme squeezed in above us. That's 14 clubs from N&D that are all the same size or larger than Dartes. It's a conscious attempt on the part of their coaches to be able to compete with the big clubs - a little over 12 months in and it has clearly worked. It's a continuation of the now defunct Swim England Beacon Programme, probably the only one in the country still operating in some form. Pretty impressive.
To finish 3rd in Yorkshire then is a big achievement. Here's how we did it.
Top of the pops was Callum Broadhead (Arm). A year or so ago he would probably have walked away from Nationals with multiple Gold medals. After a string of illnesses this season however, a lack of training left him relying on his ridiculous raw speed. That earned him Gold in 50m Freestyle with a North East Region boys record (and of course the Yorkshire/Dartes record too) of 23.81. He followed that up with Silver in the 50m Butterfly.
Those two medals push Callum into the Top 10 on the Dartes all-time medal table. Were it not for the pandemic cancelling his first two appearances at summer Nationals, it's hard to imagine him not being in the Top 4 by now, such was his domination of British rankings at the start of that period. His new record also adds his name to an illustrious list of other Dartes swimmers to have claimed Yorkshire or National records over the years.
Doing things the hard way was Madison Johnson (Arm) with a suite of events at British. A little off pace in the heats of the 200m Butterfly left her 10th fastest for the final. Alas, she wasn't the only one sitting 10th fastest.
If there's one event that you definitely do not want a swim-off for, it'll be a toss up between the 200m Butterfly and the 400m IM - and she'd done the big medley a couple of days earlier. So Monday not-quite lunchtime saw two girls face-off for the grand prize of a third 200m Butterfly in a single day - ouch.
On paper it should never have been a contest - and wasn't. Madison's PB was still most of a second faster than her swim-off victory whereas the other girl had to swim her best just to stay close. Unfortunately, it was another 200m Butterfly that had to be swum in quick succession, and that obviously took a toll on later performances that week. The lesson all young swimmers need to take from this is: go fast in heats. No matter who you are, you gain nothing by cruising through early rounds. Not to suggest that was the intent here, something else for young swimmers to learn: how to swim fast on-demand in the morning!
The ever-consistent Molly Chambers (Drn) caused a different kind of drama in her heat. Her 2:17.82 qualified third fastest for the senior final, and opened questions about the likelihood of winning a medal. Now Molly has never even swum in a British final before, at 19 this would be her first and suddenly the prospect of a medal was hanging over her head too. Her improvements this season have been that dramatic.
First up in the finals was Maddie, and this time there was no playing around adding time on. Her customary fast start saw her touch 2nd at the 50m. By the 100m the leading pair were pulling away, and Maddie found herself touching alongside the second bunch of three girls fighting for Bronze. A hard fought third 50m kept her in the fight, but the medal was only settled with a very strong final 50m from the Dartes girl. 2:22.08 earned her first physical British medal, and the Dartes 16 years age group record to boot. That Bronze medal, plus her 3rd place in April's junior final of British Champs (for which no actual medal was awarded), lift her to 14th on our medal table.
Two finals later it was Molly's turn to challenge for medals. In April's NER Champs her Silver medal had produced a 2.45sec PB to qualify for this meet. By the end of this senior British final she would have had to knock a further 2sec off her PB for Bronze. It's the sort of improvement you see age-groupers achieving - but a little out of reach for established seniors. In the end she was 0.1sec off her PB and club record and touched 5th. That moved her 30 spots up our medal table to 29th.
Prior to the Festival of Swimming which kicked off this season, Molly's PB was a 2:24. For a 19 year old to drop 7sec in one season is an outstanding achievement, and a senior national final a worthy reward - well done to her.
Making his debut at National level competition was Louie Nightingale (Spa). An eye-opener for him no doubt, being around the big guys in British Swimming and watching how they perform - not just in the race, but warm ups, swim downs, and pre-pool too. A couple of decent PB's to mark a successful first Nationals for him, and solid foundations to build on for next season. Perhaps more importantly though - some bad habits fixed in the swim down pool! Next season should be exciting for him.
For clubs to win medals at this level they need superstars. Athletes who either have that natural talent that can be polished with training, or hard workers who have the determination to force themselves into the reckoning. Both routes work and there are examples of each at the top of our medal table. The important bit for everyone is attention to detail. Leave no stone unturned, take on board what coaches tell you, fix what needs fixing and improve everything else.
Those superstars are the type who, if they have a weak kick, are determined enough to take that weakness and turn it into a strength. If they hate early mornings (everyone does), are resilient enough to cope with that and keep on going. What can you do to make yourself a better athlete next season? Shock everyone around you, turn yourself into a superstar. It's your choice!
Training resumes bright and early Monday 5th September, enjoy your summer break.
