Lauren Macarthur, named ladies’ captain at the Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club a few days earlier, capped a big week by starring at the City of Coventry long-course graded meet with three wins in four swims.

Macarthur took the 50 fly in the top age category in 35.08 and swam "A" times of 1:09.34 and 31.80 as fastest in the 100 and 50 free. The 100 win was particularly impressive, coming from lane one. A tie for third with a home swimmer in the 100 fly completed a full hand of medals.

Macarthur is also taking the first steps under head coach Graeme Thomas’s coach development programme. Another helping bring on the club’s youngsters, teaching programme assistant Claire Ryman, was a double gold winner in the same age group as she took the 50m back and 100m breaststroke in 37.83 and 1:30.52. Ryman also collected a 100 back silver and brother Adam, in his first meet since a summer leg break, took his 50 free in an "A" time of 29.16.

Elsewhere in the male programme, Lewis Ross and Daniel Jackson fought out a close 50 fly in one of the day’s tightest finishes. Ross’s 33.23 beat his training partner to the silver in the top age group by just three hundredths, and he topped this by winning the 100 free comfortably in 1:05.64.

Fly fields were generally small, but Reading swimmers often show up well in the stroke at graded meets. Charles Davey took the 12s group 50 in 40.88 and Markus Orgill the 13s in 36.94. Coach Rob Knott, standing in for squad coach Harry Wild – in South Africa with the British team at the world championships for swimmers with Down’s syndrome – noted Orgill’s great start as the key to winning both his heat and year group.

Reading’s backstroke highlights included a 50m bronze for 10-year-old David Mills, second and third in the 13s for Elliott Packham and Orgill, and another silver for Packham over 100 metres.

In the girls’ back, County Squad swimmers Louise Tayler-Grint and Harriet Best collected silver and bronze in the top age group 200, and Rachael Mills, one of Reading’s busiest competitors so far this season, was second in the 11s group, beaten only by an "A" time from a Leeds swimmer.

Mills and Frankie Wilkins shared most of the top-two places in their year at the recent Reading club championships, and although having to settle for third and second respectively in their 100 fly were beaten only by a swimmer from Staffordshire well into A-grade territory.

Hannah Field, 13, was one of several Reading swimmers on a first outing in a long-course pool and took home a 50m free bronze medal within a fingertip of a silver – Knott again singling out a great start as the key factor. As well as Macarthur’s top age group win, Natasha Ferreira was one place outside the medals.

The day’s toughest swim was the 200 individual medley, where Lisa O’Brien won the top age group by five seconds in 2:52.91 (to go with a 100 fly silver) and there were third spots for Tayler-Grint and Rachael Mills. Reading medallists in the boys’ programme were David Mills and Orgill (gold) and Mark Chevassut (bronze in Orgill’s year). Chevassut had begun his day with a 200 free silver, with bronze there to Matteo Spanu (11) and Matt Zadrozny (14).

Coaches in charge Maria Leonard and Clive Alderson were delighted with the Reading team’s conduct on poolside and mutual support.

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