Carroll comeback and Silver double for Halford at English Masters Nationals

Spare Inter-Counties come November, the Swim England Short-Course Masters Championships marks the end of the calendar season...and always produces an array of World-beating swims from all ages! So fierce and strong is the competition, that the Phase.1 qualifying times would not have looked out of place at Age-Group level regionals, and this applies to seasoned athletes in their Forties and Fifties, not teenagers. Still, the opening Phase did fill up fast, and come Phase.2 and the modestly slacker benchmarks, such was the influx of interest, thirty minutes post entry, all was full - including the dreaded 200m Butterfly! 

Come the event itself, held in Ponds Forge - Sheffield as is now customary, it was noticable the number of last-minute drop outs - both individual and relay. Flu season, injuries (probably just trying to train to make the QTs!) and the Half-Term break playing their parts, but still, the apex of racing saw several British, European and World Records fall - Hampshire / Channel Islands as always at the spearhead - from Jo Corben of South Down Trojans (55-59yrs) dominating her Backstroke distances and cementing new heights with a new age division, to the impressive form of the Basingstoke Bluefins and their depths across the 160yrs+ and 200yrs+ relays, a familiar sight of flag waving over the three days of competition. 

City of Southampton Masters scraped together a sizeable team...again, no easy feat given the standard of entry. A very welcome return to distance specialist Fiona Carroll (30-34yrs) post a season of continued injury, but proving formidable as ever over her favoured 1500m FC (19.11.79) and securing the Team's first SC National title in a few years' - all the open water Scandinavian swimming clearing paying off! A solid effort over the 200m FC (02.20.07) and 400m FC (04.51.33) earned two more Top.10 positions in a tough field. Middle Distance compatriot Carl Halford (30-34yrs) also found himself at the sharp end of competition, Season's Bests over the 200m FC (02.04.89) and 400m FC (04.30.30) was enough to secure Top.10 fniishes...podium places hard to achieve with several rivals dipping below both the two minute and four minute barriers respectively. 

Annie Belasco (35-39yrs) returned to the National Stage for another year - dashing to Season's Bests over the 100m FC (01.13.59) and less familiar 50m Butterfly (00.37.18), with veteran Amanda Rush (55-59yrs) falling just short of Bronze over an impressive 50m Backstroke (00.36.53). However, variation was the key to Tim O'Brien's (70-74yrs) success, completing an astonishing seven individual races from typical 100m FC (01.16.36) and 200m FC (02.51.69) to a gruelling 400m FC (06.14.97) that saw the Seventy-Two-Year-Old rightfully secure a place on the podium with a well deserved Bronze. A switch to 50m (00.42.59) and 100m Breaststroke (01.35.97) rounded off a successful season for the swimming stalwart. 

Come relays...it was a mircale the Reds managed to nab some places, again, given the ferver upon entry and many popular 50m and 100m distances being snapped up in seconds. The 200yrs+ division proved favourable though, as Coach James MacTavish (40-44yrs) added a little pace despite injury, pulling the quartet of Rush/O'Brien/M.Halford up to Top.5 in the 4 x 50m Medley relay - a race owned by Woking SC and their new World Record. A similar story on the medal hunt front for the 4 x 200m FC (O'Brien/Rush/Belasco/C.Halford) where the final medal spot was snatched by Wycombe SC...a fairly comfortable margin in the end, but worth a punt!

Unquestionably the highest standard of Masters swimming over Short Course in many a year...possibly ever. This acts as a sobering template for future National-Level discipline events, with more and more top draw swimmers choosing to return for that second (arguably, third/fourth/fifth...appears to be infinite for some poster Masters) shot at glory. Qualifying times will continue to drop, standards will continue to rise, and with any luck - and perserverance - Southampton will continue to mix it with the best!

MEDAL TALLY:

GOLD : 1

SILVER : 2

BRONZE :1

James MacTavish

CSSC Masters Coach