Plymouth Leander swimmers win 12 golds at the British Summer Championships!

There was a huge haul of medals for the #bluearmy at this summer’s British Championships in Glasgow.

PL athletes returned from Scotland with 12 British titles and a total of 16 medals.

Para swimmer Reece Dunn won PL’s first medal of the meet on day one - a gold in the 200 free!

And day 2 got even better as four Plymouth Leander swimmers became British Champions! Honey Osrin (16) stormed to victory in the 100 backstroke while 15 year old James Hart led all the way in his 200 fly final taking gold with a second PB of the day dropping almost 3 seconds over the two races. In the 19 and over 200 fly, Tom Beeley timed his race to perfection to win with a lifetime best. Meanwhile Lana Broekhoven (16) also swam a best time to take gold and title in the 200m breaststroke.

Day three saw 15 year old Ella Bardgett on fire in a thrilling 50m freestyle final. She swam a PB to lift herself from 7th in the heats to finish third and win a bronze medal.

The gold rush continued on day 4 as Adam Chillingworth found a final burst of energy to take the men’s 200 breaststroke title in 2.13.21. James Hart won himself another title, dominating his 100 fly final taking gold with a time of 55.69 while Honey Osrin struck gold again, taking control of the 200 backstroke final winning in 2.11.55.

Day 5 brought a second gold of the championships for Reece Dunn as he led the pack from the start in the Men’s MC 100 fly (56.21). Lana Broekhoven also bagged gold medal number 2 in the 200IM! Having qualified in 7th place, Lana turned in 6th place after the first 100m then completely dominated the breaststroke leg to turn in first eventually winning the title by just 0.09 seconds in 2.19.29.

Reid Jones (16) raced fast in the splash and dash (50 free) and with just a fingertip in it won silver with a PB of 23.34.

On the final day of racing, the #bluearmy didn’t disappoint.

James Hart qualified 7th for the 200 free final but swam a stunning race to take gold and the title with a massive 2.63 second PB (1.56.78).

He then swam his second final of the session to take silver in the 50 fly. Having qualified in 4th he finished second in a new PB of 25.92 – just 0.07 off gold – and his first time sub 26 seconds.

In the 200 back Hubert Gdaniec (16) took silver with a very close second place earning himself a big PB of 2.06.73.

While the girls 14-16 years medley relay team (Honey Osrin, Lana Broekhoven, Oriana Noel and Ella Bardgett) put in a fantastic performance with a second PB of the day to claim gold and the title.

So the final medal tally for the #bluearmy at the British Nationals: 12 gold; 3 silver and 1 bronze!

Head coach Robin Armayan is delighted with the results. “Our swimmers at the British Summer Champs finished their season in the same way as we started it – with high standards, great skills, professional attitude and outstanding results,” he said. “The number of medals and finalists shows great strength in depth from the programme but also a solid year of coaching by all of our staff who have worked so hard to prepare the athletes at all levels.”