Goodall Leads the Way at Midland Championships

Following numerous successes at the Midland Youth Championships last month, the younger members of Derbyshire’s elite swim squad, Derventio eXcel, got the first weekend of the Midland Age Group Championships off to a flying start. The Championships, which take place over two weekends in Coventry, see the very best young swimmers from all over the Midlands compete in a wide range of events.
Shining star so far has been Ben Goodall (13), who was in blistering form, taking top spot in both the 400m & 1500m freestyle; achieving both personal best and national qualifying times in the process. He also took silver medal place in both the 200m Breaststroke and Individual Medley. Ben added another gold medal to his tally when he was joined by Connor Smith, James Latham and Kevin Wallbank in the 4 x100m Medley Relay in a time of 4:22:49. The boys added silver in the 4 x 200m freestyle and a bronze in the 4 x 100m relay events.
Other outstanding performances were produced by:
· Hannah Jones (13) – Gold: 100m Butterfly
· Connor Smith (14) – Silver: 100m Butterfly, 100m Freestyle; Bronze: 400m Freestyle
· Abbie Wood (11) – Silver: 100 Breaststroke (National Qualifying Time)
· Oliver Davidson (12) – Bronze: 200m Breaststroke
· James Latham (14) – Bronze: 200m Breaststroke
· Lucy Wood (13) – Bronze: 200m Backstroke

Derventio Coach, Kim Hill said – “Overall it has been an excellent weekend of swimming and shows that the swimmers are more than prepared for the upcoming end of season meets at Cardiff and of course the National Championships at Sheffield where 27 DX swimmers will be competing...so far!. The hard work continues now through to next weekend and the second weekend of the regional championships. This time the girls have their turn in the team events, and more fast swimming, medals and most importantly personal bests are expected. The younger Derventio swimmers have demonstrated the same professionalism and dedication, coupled with a fun and team focussed attitude as displayed by their senior counterparts, again showing that Derventio is the place to eXcel in the water!”
In addition to the excellent results last weekend, another Derventio swimmer, Evie Keane (15), received the news this week that she has been selected to swim for the England Central Team at the UK Schools Games Championships 2010 in September.
Evie will join fellow Derventio eXcel teammates Emily Allsopp and Jodie Hawksworth in Sunderland.
Evie has been a national level swimmer since the age of 11 and so will bring a wealth of experience to the young team.
Congratulations Evie!