Swimmers from Ross-on-Wye recently took part in a major swimming meet at Hereford. The competition, which was attended by 20+ clubs from Wales, Midlands and the southwest, provided some stiff opposition for the Ross youngsters. However, despite over a year away from their home pool due to building works, some hard work over the past two or more years began to pay off.

The two day meet started on a high with gold for Jasmine Hoult in the 9yr 200m BR. This was shortly followed by outstanding swims for Freya Phelps and Isabelle Sayce in the 100m BK, both netting county qualifying times and top three places. Not to be outdone, Eddy Taylor fought against tough competition in the 10yr 50m freestyle to win silver, taking over two seconds off his previous best time. The gala also saw a number of younger swimmers taking part in one of their first big events. Gracie Harness was the youngest swimmer to enter the 200m fly, winning gold in the 9yr age group. Ross continued to demonstrate an appetite for the tougher events, with Freya Phelps netting gold in the 400m freestyle and Isabelle Sayce gold in the gruelling 400m individual medley, both girls also competed in the 200m fly.

Alongside these great results, there were also some massive improvements amongst some of the other swimmers. Poppy Gerhardt swam massive PB’s in the 11yr 50m and 200m freestyle and 200m IM, earning a place in the Hereford team for the next round of the National Arena League. Freya Smart broke the 40s barrier in the 50m freestyle with a personal best time and she also picked up a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke. Both Freya and Poppy, alongside Phoebe Ruck, were also very close to netting coveted county qualifying times.

In all, 30 swimmers from Ross entered the meet with a host of personal best swims between them. Ross swimmers netted five gold, four silver and nine bronze medals, with Freya Phelps taking top girl in the 10yr age group and Isabelle Sayce joint second place to top girl alongside fellow Hereford swimmer Evie Hunt in the 11yr age group.

Director of Swimming at Ross, Andy Boucher, told the Ross Gazette, “The results from the weekend are a substantial endorsement of the training programme we have initiated in Ross. This, combined with the enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by these young athletes and the volunteers that help run it, has improved the section’s performance year on year. Following this meet we have five swimmers with 26 county qualifying times between them, not to mention three or four other swimmers close to qualifying this year. That’s twice the number of qualifying swims compared to last year.”