For the twenty-ninth consecutive year, the Bromsgrove Preparatory Invitational Swimming Relay proved to be a .jpg)
resounding success for all swimmers from Bromsgrove Preparatory School.
Twenty six schools took part in the competition on Monday 25th February, which is the largest event for primary and preparatory schools in the Midlands.
The afternoon’s races were a rollercoaster of excitement with nail-biting finishes with the Bromsgrove U11 girls taking gold in the 4×25 metres medley relay, setting a new event record, followed by the U11 boys who managed third place in their 4×25 metres medley relay.
The U13 boys and girls were unbeatable, competing in the 4×25 metres freestyle relay with both teams taking gold and in doing so the girls setting a new school record of 57.85 seconds. It was the third fastest boys’ relay time the school has ever recorded.
During session two of the gala, the U11 girls, U13 girls and U13 boys out swam all opposition achieving gold with the U11 girls once again setting a new event record. The U11 boys achieved fifth place in the U11 freestyle relay in what was a very tough race.
Swimmer of the tournament for Bromsgrove was awarded to Tristan Bland. Twelve year old Tristan, who swam as fourth leg in both relays, dived in well behind the leaders only to catch them up and overtake the competition in the last six metres.
Tristan's fastest leg was a staggering 12.99 seconds over 25 metres, the third fastest relay split by a Bromsgrove swimmer over the last twelve years.
Master of Swimming at Bromsgrove School Shaun Camden said: “Never before has Bromsgrove done so well in the twenty-nine years of the staging of this event.
With such depth in all age groups, in confirms our standing as the leading co-educational Preparatory School for swimming in the Midlands in winning six gold medals out of a possible eight, including one bronze, in this huge tournament.
As coach I must thank all who helped with staging this mammoth event, but most of all a huge thank you to the parents who support their children training and competing week in and week out on top of all their other school academic and sporting commitments. On this evidence alone, it definitely is worth it!”