WYRE Forest Swimming Club (WFSC) made a big splash at the Worcestershire County Championships over the last few weeks.

The championships traditionally start with two weekends of long distance events, featuring races over 800 metres and 1,500m. The first weekend saw some outstanding results with WFSC topping the table with 10 medals and two champions at 800m.

One of the stars of the show was Olivia Gardner, 13, who won gold in the 800m freestyle with a time of nine minutes 32.77 seconds to set a new county record. She also came third overall against competitors four years her senior.

John McMahon gained second place in the 13 years age group with Jacob Jackson taking the bronze medal in the same age group.

Jack Rowley collected his first county medal with a much improved 9.36.6 in the 14yrs age section.

Emma Baker took an impressive 40 seconds off her previous best to take silver in the 12 year section, Chloe Bate finished second to Gardner with an impressive 9.48.01, while the final medal went to sprint specialist Megan Tinsdale, who took bronze in the 15/16yrs age category.

Natasha Walker, Helena Shackleton, Megan Willetts, Jess Lewis and Callum Tinsdale also impressed.

“In my eyes it was much more important that the swimmers understand how to race and not just get in and thrash up and down,” said head coach Alan Bircher. “The 800 metres is a controlled and tactical event and our swimmers took this on board, listened to our instructions and the tactics worked to a great effect.” The 1,500m event on Sunday saw Wyre Forest picking up where they had left off from the previous week.

Baker improved on her silver medal at 800m by winning the 12 years age group with a clear 10 seconds over her nearest rival in 19.33.58.

In the same age group, Walker picked up her first county medal with a tremendous one minute improvement on her personal best time.

Jackson produced a personal best time and a very controlled race to clinch silver in the 13 years group in 19.09.76. AJ Renton (5th, 13yo) and Rowley just missed out on medals, while Beth Hinton gained a fourth place finish with a personal best time of 20.03.83.

Hayden Griffiths was also in impressive form in the both distances over the fortnight.

The 15-year-old, who competes in the 15/16 category, won both the 800m and 1500m titles to become a double junior champion in the process.

He also finished second overall in the 1,500m, behind a strong swim from Hereford’s Patrick Meggitt, 23. In common with other WFSC members, Griffiths’ times of 8.56.46 and 16.56.73 improved greatly on his previous personal bests, which were set only in November.

“It’s always good to see swimmers get the results they deserve and Hayden produced an excellent bit of distance swimming,” added Bircher. Previously, the club had celebrated a fine year at its presentation evening at Kidderminster Harriers Sports and Social Club. Bircher announced Nick Thorley and Sophie Haycock-Jones as captains, backed-up by vice-skippers Hayden Griffiths and Grace Catchpole.

Haycock-Jones and Adam Marsh received scrolls for their hard work, there were junior scrolls for Matt Newey and Walker, while Tinsdale’s fine year saw her awarded the Hogan Shield for special achievement.

Griffiths’ excellent year was recognised as he was presented with the Griffiths Cup for the most Championship records broken during the year.

Wyre Forest winners of the age-group trophies: Eight years and under: Ellie Bainbridge and Alex Rosser-Barnett; nine years: Emily Bate and Max & William Lloyd joint winners of the boys trophy; 10 years age group: Abbie Rowley and Allaster Renton; 11 years: Helena Shackleton and Daniel Booth; 12 years: Natasha Walker and AJ Renton; 13/14 years: Jessica Lewis and Hayden Griffiths; 15/16 years: Meg Tinsdale and Nick Thorley and the 17 years and over category winners were: Sophie Haycock-Jones and Adam Marsh. Winners of age-group trophies in specific events: Ellie Bainbridge; Alex Rosser-Barnett; Adam Newey; Brodie Willetts; Emily Bate; Finley Giles; Max Lloyd, Abbie Rowley; Allaster Renton; Sam Osborne; Helena Shackleton, Daniel Booth; Natasha Walker, Mason Giles and AJ Renton. Record breakers were: Hayden Griffiths (18), Megan Willetts (6), Sam Osborne (5), Emma Baker (3), Erica Harris (3), Alice Hayden Jones (2), Ellie Bainbridge (2), Chloe Bate (2), Helena Shackleton (1), Nathan Hawkins (1), Mason Giles (1), AJ Renton (1), Lizzie Hall (1) and Emily Bate (1).