Satellites enjoy run of success
THE Satellite swimming squad have been busy this month after competing in national and international competitions, along with hosting the annual Satellite Open held in Macclesfield.
Satellites held the 28th Annual Open Meet and had great success, winning 28 gold medals, 38 silver and 38 bronze.
Alongside senior swimmers such as Ben Arkle, Charlotte Taylor, Davina Christie, Mary Taylor, Katie Hughes and David Fryer-Winder all producing solid swims, there was some outstanding performances from the junior end of the squad.
A special mention must go to Rachel Taylor who swam and smashed every single one of her personal best times, which is a great testament to the training and the commitment she has shown since being given a place in the Fast Track squad.
The likes of Nick Jackson, Sam and Tom Prince Will Martindale, Jason Kenning, Jack Crocker and Johnny Grout all performed well for the boys too.
Satellites has a brilliant tradition of producing great age group swimmers and the latest group of female talent is looking very strong.
There were swims from the likes of Holly Dillon, Tilly Jones, Lilly Holmes, Jaye Christie, Abbie Fryer-Winder, Natasha Fahey, Rhiannon and Chloe Foster, Kara Mather and Jasmine Johnson, who all showed that the club is heading in the right direction and that they have good strength in depth through the squad.
A few days prior to that event were the British Swimming Championships, which were held in London. This meet sees the very best swimmers from around the country in the open age groups compete to be crowned the national champion, and be selected for the team that are competing on the world or European stage that year.
Satellites had Ben Arkle there this year competing at the trials in the 100 and 200m Breaststroke.
This was Ben’s first time at the British Championships, but he swam very well and overcame his nerves to perform brilliantly on the day.
He swam just outside his personal best times, and in his 100m swim finished just outside the final places that would have seen him be in the fastest eight swimmers in his age group across the whole country.
“As a coach I was very pleased with the way Ben performed and saw plenty of things that we can work on for the rest of the season, and go to the regional and national competitions and perform even quicker times,” said Ric Howard.
Satellites also competed in the Stockport Metro Meet & Wirral Open Meet last month too, picking up six gold medals, 10 silver medals and 11 bronze medals.
These meets saw swimmers try and perform personal best times before a block of training into the regional championships.
At Stockport, great performances from Ethan Nevett and Joe Lindsay saw the team rack up some more regional qualifiers, and solid performances from the likes of Mary Nelson, Katie Hughes, Ellie Percy, Hannah Dawson and Lara Crawford, made sure that we have got a good solid block to work from into the regional championships later on this year.
Meanwhile, at Wirral, swimmers such as Charlotte Jackson, Sam Frost, Matt Willis, Fionn Carmen, Jess Birchenough and Lizzie Caunt, also showed fantastic form with some swimmers smashing their personal best times and showing the work we have been doing in training is working very well.