West Norfolk Swimming Club sent a team of eight to the 2023 edition of the British Masters Swimming Championships.
Held at Ponds Forge, in Sheffield, their selection was fully justified with a highly-respectable 29th-place finish out of 291 clubs in attendance.
The opening day on Friday saw Robert Addis and Finlay Ryan win a pair of medals each.
Addis struck gold in the 18-24 years’ 800M freestyle whilst Ryan earned himself a silver in the 50m breaststroke in the same age category.
The pair then teamed up with Oliver Kenny and Jake Lammas for the 4 x 50m freestyle relay event, which saw the West Norfolk team take a well deserved victory and further gold.
Lammas and Kenny swam further events – Lammas the 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle whilst Kenny took part in the 50m breaststroke
Sam Rose was also in action, contesting the 100m backstroke; 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly – competing alongside Addis in the latter.
Lucy Chadderton was the first of West Norfolk’s women to take to the water, doing so in 100m freestyle for the 40-44 years’ age category.
The second day of competition on Saturday saw West Norfolk’s two remaining swimmers enter the fray with Tracy Dodds taking on the Women’s 50m freestyle and Oliver Harris the men’s 100m breaststroke.
Kenny was back in the water for the men’s 50m backstroke and 50m freestyle; joined by Rose in the former and Addis in the latter.
The headline result came from Addis with another gold medal-winning performance in the 18-24 years’ 400m freestyle.
Not to be outdone, Ryan also bagged further silverware on day two – picking up silver medals in the 100m breaststroke and 50M freestyle
The pair once again teamed up for relay competition – joining Kenny and Rose for a silver medal-winning swim in the 4 x 50m medley.
The third and final day may not have seen any medals come West Norfolk’s way, but there were plenty of impassioned performances nonetheless.
Addis and Rose swam both the 50m butterfly and the 100m freestyle, in which they were joined by Lammas.
Kenny, having also swam the 50m butterfly rounded off his weekend with the 200m individual medley.
On the women’s side, Chadderton swam the 100m freestyle whilst Dodds closed the action with her 50m freestyle.
The weekend was a testament to the continued growth of West Norfolk Swimming Club’s Masters section, under the guidance of coach Cheryl Rose, who was delighted with the performances of her team.
