Podium placings for Southampton Masters to start 2024
2024 sees another Summer Olympic Year...which of course means little to all the retirees of the sport spare a shift in calendar dates. We'll see all levels of Masters competition move up a few months, from local events to Welsh, Scottish and British Nationals...often resulting in clashes and truncations (only so many weekends in a row to which part-timers can commit!) Thankfully, the opening event of the calendar nearly always remains the same, South East Regional Long Course Masters Championships, K2, Crawley...on a weekend that saw the much-favoured venue host not only swimming, but dance, cheerleading and a martial arts competition - don't think I've ever seen the car park so crowded and such a mixture of sports attire in one place!
With World Masters Championships still sparring with its European Counterpart courtsey of COVID, 2024 again sees double chances for International Recognition in the discipline...Doha, Qatar fixed for end of February, then Belgrade, Serbia not far behind in July. Cramming in some last minute Long Course race preparation were many global Masters regulars from Woking's Michelle Ware to Portsmouth Northsea-via-Cardiff's Chris Jones - setting several Competition Bests in their stride. A welcome return to British Masters most venerable veteran Jane Asher, the Kings Cormorants nonagenarian still stepping up to the blocks and all being well, seeking more World titles across a range of Freestyle distances.
Southampton Masters sent a familar small pack - Butterfly enthusiast Matt Nash (25-29yrs) dipping under the 30-second mark once again in the 50m Butterfly (00.29.76) for a strong Sixth place, the toll of the afternoon session draining the shoulders over the 100m Butterfly (01.09.49) but under the 70-second barrier, just missing out on Bronze. Age-Group rival and newcomer Tom Williams (25-29yrs) fairing a little better having focused purely on the latter half of the day, a Silver in the 100m Butterfly (01.04.98) behind Hackney's Charles Messanger, then battling to Bronze over the 50m Breaststroke (00.36.40). A similar Bronze-battle ensued for James MacTavish (40-44yrs) against friends Jones and Wildern Waves' Alistair Garmendia, the former City of Southampton trio taking all three podium places in the 200m IM (02.42.37)...MacTavish having to settle for Silver in the 200m Backstroke (02.49.96) by 0.3 second to regular rival Guy Armstrong of Medway Martime.
With stalwart Kim Tarrant (55-59yrs) our only female representative this year, but adding more metal with Silver over the 50m Breaststroke (00.45.77) and Bronze on the 100m Breaststroke (01.40.17), the final throw of the dice for Gold came from our second newcomer...the most welcome Tim O'Brien (70-74yrs), taking advantage of a slim field for a solid 200m Freestyle (02.50.95) and not only the Team's only Regional Title, but I believe our first ever septuagenarian winner! I'll have to check the Club Records...!
The Red Masters' focus will now move on to the Royal Navy Meet in February, before a quick skim of the qualifying times for British National Long Course Masters in April - Wales' turn to host in Swansea, just a few weekends after their own National Championships. Busy times!
MEDAL TALLY:
GOLD : 1
SILVER : 3
BRONZE : 3
TOTAL : 7
James MacTavish
City of Southampton Masters
