It is with great pride that we can announce that nine Mid Sussex Marlins swimmers have qualified for the 2017 Summer National Championships in Sheffield.
Firstly, congratulations to the swimmers:
- Rachel Bowen – 50m fly & 50m breast
- Georgie Gratton – 50m back
- Charlotte Johnson – 200m, 400m, 800m free & 400m IM
- Sophie Maguire – 50m, 100m, 200m back & 50m fly
- Sophie Shaw – 50m, 100m, 200m back, 50m free & 50m fly
- Robin Boyden – 50m fly
- Alex Bowen – 50m free & 50m fly (Loughborough student)
- Rhiannon Evans – 50m, 100m fly (Millfield student)
- Calvin Fry – 200m IM (Millfield student)
Charlotte Johnson, Sophie Maguire, Robin Boyden, Rhiannon Evans and Calvin Fry are first time qualifiers and six of the nine qualifiers are also County record holders which shows us how high the swim standard is but also how tough it is to qualify for Nationals.
The National Championships take place over 11 days in Sheffield in July / August and are the culmination of the British Swimming / Swim England performance pathway which starts at the ‘learn to swim’ stage and progresses through to county, regional and national level swimming.
We have seen a rapid improvement in swimming standards within the Club over the past three seasons and, through changes in the squad structure, criteria and a lot of hard work from the team, we are now seeing the benefits of this come to the forefront. Two years ago we had two swimmers qualify in three events in total. We now have six full time Marlins swimmers qualifying and racing in a total of 17 events ranging from sprints to distance swims PLUS a further three Marlins student swimmers who regularly training with the club achieving qualifying times in another five events.
Qualifying for the National Championships is a great achievement which is backed up by hours of dedication to swimming and training, day in day out. The qualified swimmers, and their team mates who also play a big part in the process, have made sacrifices to get them to this point and they fully deserve this. We must celebrate and be proud of these swimmers who are representing the Club at the highest level in domestic swimming. As ever, getting swimmers to this level is a Club achievement and the coaching and teaching staff, at each step of the Club’s pathway, should take pride in our swimmers’ achievements and their own contribution to the process.
On behalf of myself, the Club and coaching team, we wish our swimmers the best of luck in their preparations and at the National Championships this summer. #fastswimming
Stephen Murphy, National Squad Coach, Mid Sussex Marlins
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