Report: Annual Swimming Sports Day
The annual Swimming Sports were held on campus on Wednesday 5 March. With an exceptionally high standard of racing this year, no less than nine new records were set across the day. These included:
- Form 3 J. S. Suh in the Junior 50m and 100m Breaststroke in times of 34.19 and 1.15.41
- Form 4 student R. Zhou in the Junior 50m Butterfly and 200m Medley in times of 28.80 and 2.26.47
- Form 4 student T. M. Lushkott in the Intermediate 100m Backstroke and 200m Freestyle in times of 1.04.76 and 2.08.22
- Form 5 student C. Yin in the Intermediate 50m and 100m Breaststroke in times of 31.29 and 1.08.56
- Form 7 student O. W. Bower in the Senior 100m Backstroke in a time of 1.02.54.
One of the highlights of the day was the Senior 50m Freestyle. 76 competitors raced across nine heats with only 0.26 seconds separating the top three: Form 7 students K. D. Cossill first in a time of 25.65, L. C. Williams in second and C. G. Howlett in third.
Other highlights included the Junior 50m Breaststroke and Intermediate 100m Backstroke, both of which saw the top two competitors push each other to both beat the previous event record. In the Junior 50m Breaststroke, J. S. Suh and Zhang touched first and second, with Suh claiming the title and new record in a time of 34.19, which was nearly a full second faster than the previous record set just last year.
In the Intermediate Backstroke, it was T. M. Lushkott and Form 4 student T. Y. Chin as the top two, with Lushkott finishing first in a time of 1.04.76, over half a second faster than the 2023 record of 1.05.47.
The final event of the day was the 200m Individual Medley, an ultimate test of overall swimming ability and aerobic fitness. The medley racing in the seeded heats of each age group was fast paced and impressive as expected, with L. C. Williams, C. Yin, and R. Zhou the Senior, Intermediate, and Junior winners respectively.
Interestingly, the unseeded senior heats produced some fierce competition. After eight laps of racing across four different strokes, Form 7 students C. T. V. Fearon, S. W. Hawkins, and R. M. Kelso-Heap were only separated by a second all finishing around 4.08 in a sprint finish. But their heat was taken out by C. G. Howlett in 3.08, who saw off stern challenges from Form 7 students T. R. Bonetti, M. G. Heather, and J. M. Hiddleston.
Age group champions were decided by swimmers accumulating points for podium places across the nine events. Although the competition in individual races within each age group was exceptionally tight, each age group champion was clear by the end of the day’s racing.
The Junior Champion was Form 3 student J. Zhang. Zhang competed in seven races and never finished off the podium, finishing first in four events – the 50 and 100m Backstroke and the 50m and 100m Freestyle.
The Intermediate Champion was T. M. Lushkott. Lushkott competed in all nine intermediate events, finishing on the podium in eight of them. He finished second three times and his two race wins in the 100m backstroke and the 200m freestyle were both in record times.
The Senior Champion was L. C. Williams. Williams raced in eight of the nine senior events, finishing on the podium in seven of them. He won the 50m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle, and 200m Medley, demonstrating his all-round ability as a swimmer across the full range of disciplines and distances.
J. Zhang, T. M. Lushkott and L. C. Williams all crossed stage on Tuesday 11 March to receive their medals and the School’s congratulations.
A special thanks to Mr Richardson for his organisation of the championships, and to the staff and Prefects who assisted to make the annual meet a success.