Burnham Swim Academy celebrates success at 2024 County Swimming Championships

Swimmers from Burnham-On-Sea Swim Academy are celebrating success at this month’s 2024 County Swimming Championships.

The County Swimming Championships finally started last weekend after problems with flooding in the Millfield School pool plant room.

Burnham’s Academy Swim Team have had another record year of qualifiers for this competition, with 45 swimmers taking part in a combined 239 events.

The first weekend saw many new Personal best long course (50m) times. The results inclued:

• Leo Woodrow – 13yrs  1^st 50 Breaststroke, 3^rd 200 Freestyle, 4th 400 Freestyle, 50 &200 Backstroke
• Lauren Glanville – 13yrs: 1^st 1500 Freestyle
• Xander Powell – 14 yrs: 1^st 50 Backstroke,  2^nd 200 Freestyle, 2^nd 200 Backstroke
• Eleanor Rees – 15yrs: 2^nd 50 Breaststroke also gaining 3^rd Overall Junior in this event and 5^th 200 Breaststroke.
• Harry Glanville – 13 yrs: 2^nd 1500 Freestyle, 6^th 400 Freestyle, 7^th 200 Freestyle
• Evie Horsfall – 16yrs: 2^nd 1500 Freestyle
• Emily knight – 17yrs: 2^nd 1500 Freestyle
• Ryan Smout – 13yrs: 3^rd 200 Butterfly

• Lewis Duggan – 18yrs and over: 3^rd 200 Backstroke, 4^th 50 Backstroke
• Imogen Mawby – 12yrs: 4^th 50 Backstroke, 5^th 100 Backstroke, 6^th 100 Free, 8^th 200 Freestyle
• Emily Druce – 13yrs: 4^th 1500 Freestyle
• Killy Faubel – 12yrs: 5^th 200 Backstroke, 8^th 400 Freestyle
• Zach Powell – 16yrs: 5^th 50 & 200 Backstroke, 6^th 200 Freestyle, 7th 50 & 100 Breaststroke and 400 Freestyle.
• Phoebe Poole – 15yrs: 6^th 50 Butterfly
• Macy Noad – 17yrs: 7th 200 IM

Meanwhile, over the same weekend brothers Tetelo Magang (15) and Otsile Magang (11), who train with Academy Swim Team Burnham, competed in the 18th Botswana Swimming Nationals.

They arrived back in Botswana 10 days before the gala started to acclimatise to the 40-degree heat and train with their old swimming club Darrell Morton’s School of Swimming (DMSS) in Gaborone. Botswana Nationals are swum as a Long Course event in an outdoor 50m swimming pool. Both boys were excited to be competing.

Tetelo was swimming in the 15/16 yrs. age group. His best result was 4th in the 200 Freestyle where he took 8.99 seconds off his previous personal best, then gained 5th in the 100 Freestyle taking 3.86 seconds off his previous time.

He was also 6th in the 50 Butterfly, and 8th in the 50 Backstroke, 200IM and 50 Freestyle all in best ever times. Ostile in the 11/12 age group took 5 seconds off his best times in each of the 50 Breaststroke and Freestyle events.

Head Coach, Sara Flinton, says: “I was delighted with the way all the swimmers coped with the delay in competing this year and am looking forward to the second weekend of the Championships in three weeks’ time over 16th and 17th March.”

Pictured: Lauren Glanville, Xander Powell, Harry Glanville, Eleanor Rees, Ryan Smout, Ostile and Tetelo Magang