Club Captain Maddie at British Championships
Winter Nationals was the end of cycle meet for National squad athlete, Maddie Johnson (Dartes/Armthorpe)
A weekend of high quality short course racing was held at Ponds Forge on the 2nd to the 4th December. The Winter Championships had more than 2,500 entries across 36 events hosting the best athletes in England. If the level of competition was ever in doubt look no further then the numerous international swimmers present and a number of impressive english senior records lowered over the coruse of the weekend, make no mistake this is top of English domestic swimming. Read more https://www.swimming.org/sport/tag/swim-england-national-winter-championships-2022/
Maddie was set to race the 200m Individual Medley, 100m Butterfly, 100m Individual Medley and the 50m Butterfly.
On Friday, Maddie raced the 200m Individual Medley, which saw a much faster 50m Butterfly leg of the event in comparison to the NERs the month previous. Maybe not quite the end result she will have been looking for but definite signs of progress especially on the fly leg.
Saturday morning began with the 100m Butterfly and Maddie was entered in at 1.02.81. The NER racing the month previous saw Maddie go a 1.06.36 and then a final with a time of 1.06.25. That was without a taper, so splitting 29.84 at the first 50m and a better back end speed saw Maddie pull in a time of 1.03.52, which is back on track!
Anyone that is immersed in the sport of swimming understands that there is no linear way to success, and sometimes success fluctuates.
Next up was the 100m Individual Medley and Maddie was entered in at 1.06.21. Splitting 13.06 out on the 25m Butterfly, it looked really speedy with a great stroke rate. The remaining three quarters of the race saw a much better rate of stroke on the Backstroke leg and a great finish seeing her post a 1.06.72, which is near enough best time pace!
Finally, Sunday morning, it was made for the 50m Butterfly. Excited and ready to go Maddie was seeded in lane 6 with a time of 28.90 submitted. A fast race with great stroke rate saw her split 7.1 at 15m, 12.96 at 25m then hits the second 25m at 15.62 finishing in a time of 28.58. A beaming Maddie comes up the stairs with a best time on the 50m to round off the Winter Nationals.
A huge amount of resilience demonstrated from Maddie in what has been a tough first cycle, with an increase in volume and intensity in comparison to the previous season.
Athletes in the National squad have been training at 7.0km sessions across the 8 sessions per week totalling 56 km. That’s up by just over 10.0k weekly. A lot of people see volume as garbage yardage, but that’s the uneducated point of view. The aerobic system has been a big emphasis on the first cycle and it has a lot of value especially for the second and third ‘championship’ cycle.
Anyone reading this you should know there is no magic pill to success. If there was everyone would take it. Instead, athletes that want success should take ownership, be accountable, turn up to all the sessions, leave the excuses at the door and look to make gains on a regular basis! We talk about it all the time - consistency and commitment - two big attributes that separates the average Joe and the very best!
A great way to sign off your short course season, Maddie! An excellent example of what a role model looks like for all our athletes across all squads and also for Doncaster Swimming.
Well done from all at Team Dartes!
