Reading Easter Open “skins”

“Skins” elimination events were a huge hit with spectators when introduced last Easter – so a second set was introduced for 2005, all four sponsored by Village Properties of Tilehurst and Burns and Partner. This meant an extra incentive for swimmers to make the grand finals in both the 50m freestyle and 200 IM.

 Kingston's Wales Commonwealth Games swimmer Owen Morgan won Friday’s 50 final, but was only at the meet that day.

 This meant the series – the slowest dropping out until the last two are left head-to-head – featured Reading’s Matt Sandell, Ben Lowndes of Guernsey (who later in the meet achieved the island’s qualifying time for the 2006 Commonwealths in the 200 fly), two outstanding young Wycombe swimmers in Robert Matthews-Stroud and James Crawford, Cardiff's Daniel Haigh and Jonathan Bone of Tunbridge Wells, a regular Easter meet star in recent seasons.

Lowndes, saving himself for the 200 fly, coasted out in round one and Crawford fell in round two, won by Sandell. Haigh, round one winner, was next to go and Matthews-Stroud, the youngest at 15, then pushed Sandell into third spot to contest the final with Bone. The Kent swimmer – a student at Loughborough University – pitched his tactics perfectly and won the head-to-head 24.49 to 25.97.

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Reading’s Emma Zadrozny contested the girls’ freestyle series with Cardiff's Bethan Thomas and Stella Lancey, Wycombe’s Jeni Howard, Emma Allington of Tunbridge Wells and Newbury’s Emma Harris, at 18 the oldest.  

Howard won round one, with Zadrozny second and Lancey falling, then Thomas took the next race from Howard, Harris and Zadrozny, meaning Allington was out. Harris moved up to win round three as Zadrozny’s interest ended, and in a fingertip finish to the semi-final, just 0.2 covered the three survivors as Harris and Howard made it through and Thomas dropped out.

The powerful Newbury girl – strong over all freestyle distances and also 400m gold medallist – had a slightly more comfortable winning margin in 28.17 to 28.92.

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Five of the male 50 free finalists also made it to the IM “skins”, with Reading’s Russel Korting for Matthews-Stroud the only change. The event was more of a novelty as a draw decided which of the four strokes would be swum first.

 Korting was first out as breaststroke was called – but pressing the fifth-placed Bone hard – and Crawford next after the freestyle, where just 0.26 covered all five. Haigh looked favourite to go out in the backstroke and so it proved, and Bone, Sandell and Lowndes contested the fly.  

Lowndes pushed Sandell out in the semi, and with fly called again for the final, Bone looked good for the overall win. Lowndes’s 26.97 was well inside Bone’s semi-final time, but Bone also moved into another gear and won his second “skins” prize of the meet by a fingertip in 26.88.

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Reading fielded three girls in their medley “skins”, joining Howard, Allington and Soundwell’s Nikki Smith, with the stroke draw in the same order as the men’s.  

Holly Tanner, hoping for anything but breaststroke to start proceedings, was first out. Leona  Jones won round one but was out in the second round freestyle. Smith finished well adrift in the backstroke and Allington in the fly, which left Zadrozny fastest into the final but only 0.8 ahead of Howard. The Wycombe girl – winner of the separate grand final of the event the previous evening - had a little more in the tank and took it by 30.19 to 31.00 to make up for her 50 free disappointment.

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