Report
on ASA Masters ChampionshipsReport
on ASA Masters Championships
Eight members of the Evening Post-sponsored Reading Swimming Club Masters squad - Catrin Basham, Carole Eyles, Carolyn Fox, Lucy Roper, Iain Gerrard, Callum Riding, Nigel Salsbury and David Stannard - represented the town at the national championships at Sheffield's Ponds Forge pool, the top venue for swimmers of all ages in Britain. Around 1,000 competed over three days.
Masters swimming is run as a mirror image of age group competition, with entry times becoming progressively less demanding, enabling many swimmers to compete well into their 80s - although even the senior members of Reading's contingent have some decades to go before that age group looms.
Six of coach Gordon Carmichael's squad brought home medals. Eyles had the most successful meet. Swimming in the tough 25-29 category, which includes some swimmers still in serious club training, she medalled in three of her four swims, winning two events. Both her speciality 200m breaststroke (2.47.84) and 200 individual medley (2.31.49) yielded golds, she took a breaststroke silver over 100 metres and in the only event where she didn't claim a rostrum place, the 200 free, she finished fourth.
Basham, in the youngest age group, was the only Reading entrant to tackle the 400 IM and won it in 5.37.41 in the best of her three swims.
Carolyn Fox, in the D category, was the busiest of Reading's ladies, with six swims, ranging in distance from the two-length 50m fly to the 1500m free, the marathon of indoor distance swimming. With an excellent 800 free behind her at the recent Reading club championships, Fox brought home the national bronze medal over 1500 in 21.20.05 in a field of 14 in her group. A further bronze came in the 200 IM and in her next best swim she placed fifth out of 15 in the 400 free.
Salsbury, in the J category, was both the most active and most successful of Reading's men. Six swims yielded five medals - a silver in all three backstroke events, and freestyle bronze over both 1500 and 400 metres. Again, he was only one place outside the medals in the only event where he didn't feature in the top three, the 800 free, giving a total of over 3,000 metres of competition across the meet.
Stannard brought home two medals and Gerrard one. Both medalled in the 800, a silver for Stannard in the 30-34 category in an excellent 9.21.37 and a bronze for Gerrard three age groups up, still well under 10 minutes in 9.55.68. Although Gerrard was one place outside the medals over 400 metres, Stannard took the bronze in a highly competitive field of 15 in 4.26.88.
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