Pioneer 79 university successes
SWIMMING SUE BROWN
THREE Pioneer 79 swimmers have been competing for their respective universities at the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Short Course Championships over the Pennines in Sheffield.
This is the first event in the 2016-2017 calendar and one of the BUCS’s largest events in terms of entries, with students from institutions all over the country competing and has featured Commonwealth, Olympic and Paralympic swimmers over the years.
The pool is split into 2x25m pools, with the men competing on one side whilst the women battle it out on the other! Some events had as many as 398 entries leading to 40 heats! The top 10 in each event competed in the ‘Final’ whilst the next 10 (in the 50m events only) competed in the ‘B’ Final.
John McKavett competed for Bangor University in the 50m Butterfly, finishing 151st out of 227 entries in a time of 29.15 seconds. John, a previous successful ‘A’ Squad member who, after a short break away from competing, has returned to the pool in September after a university training session.
James Harding competed for Liverpool University. James was also a very successful competitive swimmer who decided to have a break a few years ago.
He returned to the pool at the beginning of the year. In the 50m Freestyle, he finished 142nd out of 384 swimmers in a fabulous time of 25.44. James went on to compete in the 4x50m Medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg in a time of 29.72, the Liverpool team finished 61st in a time of 1.53.72.
Tom Gilroy was competing for Leeds Beckett University in two individual events and a relay.
In the 100m Backstroke, Tom finished his heat in a time of 57.25, finishing 17th overall out of 134 swimmers. His time was just 0.55 seconds outside the SC Winter National QT.
He will be competing again next weekend in Stockport where he is hoping to achieve the SCWNQT for this event.
In the 50m Backstroke, Tom’s favourite event, he finished 15th fastest out of 144 swimmers, in a time of 26.31, achieving his first SCWNQT and qualified 5th fastest for the ‘B’ Final. In the final he improved his time yet again to 26.13 and climbed a couple of places in the process finishing 3rd in this final, 13th overall!
Tom’s final event was the 4x50m Medley Relay, leading off on the Backstroke leg, he gave the Leeds Beckett Team a great start with his time of 26.42, the team finished a credible 16th out of 104 teams in a time of 1.46.40, qualifying 6th fastest for the B Final. In the final, Tom led off again, with an impressive time of 26.10.