Dolby and MacTavish make Masters podium at SC Nationals
Swim England has seen 2019 as its year of celebration for 150yrs of service - with Masters very much at the heart of its mantra 'Sport for Life'. Ponds Forge welcomed Britain's best veterans once again for the annual Short Course Championships....with an abundance of talent suited for its sesquicentenary (yes, I did have to Google that word!)
Southampon Masters lined up with both familiar and fresh faces - standing firm against what had to be the strongest lower-age contingent that had ever descended upon the City of Steel. World Records yet again fell at the feet of the now instantly recognisable brands of East Leeds and Birmingham Masters, with individuals Diane Ford (75-79yrs) and Sally Shields (65-69yrs) global stand outs. Domestic benchmarks as always treated like dominos with the number of new British Records set creeping into the double-digits over the three-day competition.
Sotonians had a magic number of nine (this time for, not against...if you follow the football!) attend, and after a passive Regionals earlier in the month, one could argue the Reds had something to prove. Encouraging to see was the range of age groups covered by Southampton, the events entered, and of course, the indefatigable camaraderie.
Joining the South Coast Premier, Melissa Dolby (18-24yrs) and Carl Halford (25-29yrs) were certainly no stranger to this competition having passionately represented their alma mater of Birmingham University over the years. Dolby found pacing for the podium tough against Barnet's Sarah Procter, having to settle for just outside the medals on the 100m FC (01.00.51), 50m FC (00.27.66) and 100m IM (01.08.71) despite near Season's Best times. A tight last 10m on the 50m Butterfly (00.29.52) was enough to snatch a well deserved Bronze and the first medal for the Team. Halford squared up against a jaw-dropping array of talent across all strokes in his age-division, notching Top.20 finishes in the 200m FC (02.06.85) and 100m IM (01.06.64) in times that would have comfortably made Top.10 a year ago.
With a ratio of 7:2 in favour of the Ladies, Dolby's success was echoed by Brooke Wilkinson (18-24yrs) and Hannah Dicker (25-29yrs) in the foundation ages. Wilkinson worked hard on both the 50m FC (00.30.98) and 50m Butterfly (00.33.43) amongst stern competition, whereas Dicker came away with a string of Personal Bests across her favoured sprint distances....the most memorable being her first sub-30 second 50m FC (00.29.47). Natalie Robinson (30-34yrs), sharing fond memories of Noughties Southampton, made her comeback with yet more Personal Bests across all five races, with Top.20 finishes in the 50m Butterfly (00.35.82), 50m Breaststroke (00.42.49) and 100m IM (01.21.45).
Stalwart regulars Sarah Aldridge (45-49yrs) and Amanda Rush (50-54yrs) went to work on the 50m distances. Aldridge rising to the occasion as she does so often with yet another sub-30 50m FC (00.29.58) and sub-67 100m FC (01.06.91) off the back of muted training to take Top.10 slots behind the metronomically successful Fleur Turner of Basingstoke. Rush came agonisingly close to defending her Bronze from 2018 in the 50m Backstroke (00.35.93) only to be pipped at the touch by Jane Simpson of Bolden SC. Louise Kathro (60-64yrs) was busy making her debut as a sexagenarian with Season's Bests in the 50m FC (00.36.66) and 100m FC (01.25.70).
Coach James MacTavish (35-39yrs) moved away from the previous stronghold of middle distance to the stomping ground of sprint. The efforts paid off in the 200m FC (02.10.93) to take a Top.5 position and a Masters Personal Best, swiftly followed by another and Southampton's only other podium finish in the arduous 200m Butterfly (02.29.70) - a Sliver lining behind a rampant British-Record breaking swim by newcomer Paul Wilkes of Trafford Metro SC.
Combined quartets have traditionally been the metal-makers for the Reds - but in a rejuvenated Senior (72yrs+) field spearheaded by Preston SC, GB Police and Birmingham, just trying to keep out of the relentless wash was an achievement in itself! Halford/MacTavish/Dicker/Dolby gave it everything in the opening 4 x 100m FC (04.01.08) relay with excellent splits, edged out to Fifth by sparky sub-4min Teams. A similar story unfolded in the 4 x 100 Medley (04.40.40), with Wilkinson stepping in for Dicker on the Backstroke leg. Perhaps the most impressive performance came at curtain call, with the 4 x 50m FC (01.50.09) pushing the now infamous trio of rivials to the edge, just falling outside the podium.
The 160yrs+ side for the Ladies had Aldridge/Rush/Robinson/Kathro take on the best of the South from Teddington and Bracknell in the 4 x 50m Medley (02.28.98) and 4 x 50m FC (02.10.92) finishing just shy of the Top.10.
Whilst it is fair to say when it comes to Short Course Masters Nationals the Southampton Masters look to gather the gold, 2019 proved to be a sobering but honourable reminder that National titles do not (and should not) come easy. When a broth of former Olympians, Commonwealth Champions and National Medalists decide to dust off the cobwebs from those racing jammers, anything goes - and in this case, it's usually records! All the more reason to be very proud of the laudable performances achieved and to focus our efforts into 2020!
MEDAL TALLY
GOLD : 0
SILVER : 1
BRONZE : 1
TOP 10 : 15
James MacTavish
CSSC Masters Coach
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