European-level form for the Stewart siblings at British Down Syndrome Championships

The K2 Centre in Crawley certainly does well out of playing hosts to so many swimming events...from Age Group Regionals, to Masters, and now the Down Syndrome National Championships - a wonderful occasion that welcomes athletes from across the United Kingdom and beyond as European and World records are firmly within competitors' sights. 

City of Southampton has long been the home of the Stewart family, with siblings Adam (35-39yrs) and Lucy (30-34yrs) frequently partaking in races both in the pool and in the Mediterranean (their mainstay is Gilbraltar, but love to travel back to Britain when the weather perks up...most wise!), with Adam a multiple World Title holder after a solid decade of commitment to the sport. He's seen the stakes rise each and every year, meeting new friends and applying talents across a range of distances, be it sprinting 50m or slogging through 1500m! Last month saw more Personal Bests come the young man's way, with a hot programme of 400m FC (06.53.66), 800m FC (13.51.30) and 1500m FC (27.39.20) - notiching top podium places in all three. His times for both the 800m and 1500m also secured European Records, beaten on the clock only by younger competitors. The 39-year-old also took home some silverware with a solid 100m Butterfly (01.49.27), edged out of the title by a mere three seconds by Colchester's Mark Holmes, a scenario repeated in the 100m IM (01.57.27).

Younger Sister Lucy was keen to join the action, storming to Silver over the 25m Breaststroke (00.35.25) - and no easy feat diving from the boom end at K2 I know! Great participation awards handed out to all attendees and volunteers I hear as well. 

Between the two siblings, City of Southampton current hold a staggering five European records in the category - and both will now be focused on the 2024 season and further International competition (maybe even another 10km open water swim...no stopping either of them!)

James MacTavish

City of Southampton Masters