News - 2003 Midlands

Maxwell Swimmers Strike Gold
at the Midland District Championships

Maxwell swimmers have yet again delivered a high standard of competitive swimming, this time at the Midland District Championships held at Coventry, 29-30 November 2003.

The championships were for both senior and junior swimmers and in the two categories, Maxwell had 20 medals and 28 finals. “This is probably the most successful district championships we have ever had”, commented Janko Gojković, Maxwell’s head coach. “It is clear that we are one of the top clubs in the district, as well as the country. Maxwell have excellent environment to train in, which together with quality of coaching and the amount of pooltime and land training available, makes us one of the most attractive clubs for swimmers who want to get to the top.”

The swimmers representing Maxwell at the meet were: Craig Gibbons, Edward Downes, Paul Turner, Sarah Turner, Hana Capstic, Lucy Askew, Gemma Butterfield, Adam Hilliard, Katherine McBirney, Neil Van den Broek, and Suzanne Tyson.

Craig Gibbons (18 – had his birthday on the first day of the meet) won his main event, 100m freestyle, in time 0:53.17. Gibbons also finished in the 1^st position in 50m backstroke, while in 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly he finished in 2^nd place. In the 100m backstroke, Gibbons achieved 3^rd place.

Edward Downes (16) achieved success in both Junior’s and Senior’s categories. In the 400 individual medley and 200 individual medley, Downes finished in 1^st position for both juniors races and gained two second places for the seniors. His performance in 50m breaststroke also secured him a gold medals for the juniors, while in both 200 fly and 100m Breaststoke Edward finished in 2^nd position.

Hana Capstick (16) also left her mark on the championships. A great performance in 200m butterfly (2:22.95) ensured her 1^st place for the juniors and 3^rd place for the seniors. In the 50m butterfly, Hana finished in the 2^nd position (juniors).

Suzanne Tyson (18) showed her speed in the 50m breaststroke finishing 2^nd with a time of 35.17.

Paul Turner (17) made a fine comeback, after being out of water for over 2 months. Turner, close to his previous fitness level, gave strong performances over the weekend. In the 100m backstroke, Turner finished in 4th, he gained 3^rd position in 50m backstroke, plus 4^thin the 200 backstroke and 6^th in the 200 backstroke.

Neil Van den Broek (23) made his mark in his preferred stroke and distance.. In the both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, Neil finished in 2^nd position.

Sarah Turner (14) made an excellent swim in the 800m freestyle, where she improved her best time by over 4 seconds, and missed a national qualifying time by just 0.4 sec.

Maxwell Relays (4 relays) all the Maxwell relay teams made the finals. The men’s team finished in 3^rd place twice, and the women’s in 7^th and 4^th positions.

Maxwell’s next competitions being held over the weekend 6th-7th Dec with swimmers competing at Bath the Grand Prix and the Oxford Designated Meet. Both competitions are a half way check for the swimmers in their first training cycle and excellent racing and some fast times are expected