Swimmers go the extra mile at Short Course Championships

The seven strong squad including Cameron McDonald (14), Robert Lyttle (13), Esme Hall (12), Georgia Davies (11), Poppy Robinson (11), Jane Kilpatrick(11) and Jodi Doyle (11) represented the club over the three day event with some outstanding results.

With 59 swimming clubs from across Ireland participating and over 150 girls competing in the 11/12 years age group the swimmers realised from the outset that the highest standards would be required.

Esme Hall and Popppy Robinson were first to compete on Friday morning in the gruelling 200m butterfly event with Esme finishing in fourth place and Poppy in seventh, and both receiving finalist certificates of achievement.

The next event for Banbridge was 100m backstroke and with over 90 competitors Esme Hall, Poppy Robinson, Jane Kilpatrick and Jodi Doyle all performed well, with some excellent personal best times but were just outside the top 10.

The girls 200m individual medley saw Esme, Jane and Jodi back in action with Esme taking a fantastic fourth place and finalist certificate of achievement.

The girls medley team relay was arguably the most exciting event of the day with 16 of Ireland's top swimming clubs competing for a finalists place which Banbridge secured and despite being the fifth seeds coming into the final the girls had to settle for seventh place despite an outstanding team performance.

Day two of the event commenced with the Girls 100m butterfly with Esme Hall securing third place seed for the finals with Poppy Robinson just outside in 14th.

The final of the 100m butterfly saw Esme take a phenomenal three seconds off her first heat time to secure a coveted bronze medal and the first podium position for Banbridge at Irish age group level.

The 200m breaststroke saw Georgia Davies in action for the first time with Jane Kilpatrick and Jodi Doyle all swimming impressively with Esme Hall just missing the bronze medal position by two hundredths of a second in fourth place.

Cameron McDonald and Robert Lyttle opened in 200m breaststroke in the boys 13/14 age group in fantastic form with Cameron just squeezed out of the medals in fourth place and Robert in seventh, both receiving certificates of achievement.

Day two finished with the excitement of the girls freestyle team relay with Jodi Doyle, Georgia Davies, Poppy Robinson and Esme Hall securing a finals seed place of sixth.

Despite a last minute substitution for the finals with Jane Kilpatrick stepping in for an injured Poppy Robinson the girls gave 100% but just missed out on the medals in fifth place and a fantastic team effort. All five girls were recognised for their contribution with finalists certificates of achievement.

Day three saw Cameron McDonald and Robert Lyttle find fantastic form in the 100m freestyle with Robert in 13th place and Cameron just missing out on the medals in fourth place with an outstanding personal best and Division One long course qualification time.

Esme Hall was the only Banbridge competitor to undertake the 400m individual medley knocking a massive 14 seconds off her previous best to take the first gold medal for Banbridge by a considerable margin.

Cameron McDonald was straight back into 200m backstroke with a brilliant swim and a second gold medal for Banbridge with Robert Lyttle in eighth place. Georgia Davies and Jodi Doyle completed the 200m backstroke in good times in the girls 11/12 section.

In the 100m breaststroke Cameron McDonald and Robert Lyttle, both motivated by earlier success, found themselves seeded fourth and seventh respectively in the finals but despite a phenomenal effort and a fantastic performance the boys had to settle for seventh and eighth.

In the girls 100m breaststroke event Jane Kilpatrick swam an impressive six second personal best and Jodi Doyle and Georgia Davies both finished well with Esme Hall securing fourth seed place in the finals.

The final saw Esme clinching a Division One long course qualification time but just missing out on the medals in 4th place.

During the medal presentation on Day three the Banbridge swimmers received a special mention for their outstanding performance as first time participants in the event. Congratulations to Megan McKenna, Jenny Wilson, Cameron McDonald and Esme hall who all achieved Division One qualification times during the season and the very best of luck to Megan McKenna and Esmee Hall who will go on to participate in the Irish Age Group Championships in Dublin.