'˜Determined' squad start the season with a splash

Oliver Goad left and Findlay Baillie right of Cupar and District Swimming Club.

The Cupar team of 16 swimmers traveled to Bathgate where they achieved a wide range of personal bests (pbs) and an impressive 19 medals against tough competition from teams around Scotland, with teams traveling from as far as Tain.

The club’s Findlay Baillie and Oliver Goad had already been selected to compete at the Twin Town Olympiad in Böblingen, Germany in July and this had prepped them well with the boys scooping 16 medals between them at Dunedin.

Findlay (15Y+) won gold in 200m butterfly and breaststroke, silver in 200m IM and freestyle, bronze in 100m and 200m backstroke and 100m butterfly. Oliver (13-14Y) won gold in 50m backstroke and breaststroke, silver in 50m butterfly and freestyle, 100m backstroke and freestyle, bronze in 200m IM, backstroke and freestyle.

Both boys made excellent pbs in 200m IM and backstroke.

For the girls, Hannah Staal (11-12Y), who had already won gold in the Scottish National Open Water Championships during the summer, won bronze in 100m breaststroke and freestyle and took nearly 20 seconds off her 200m butterfly, while Charlotte Williamson (13-14Y) won bronze in 100m breaststroke.

Stand-out personal bests included (11-12Y) Craig McFarlane in 200m freestyle (11s off) and Saif Azzam in 200m breaststroke (9s off), who also set a strong first time in 200m IM (first in 11Y); (8-10Y) Liam Black in 100m IM (7s off) and Caera Baillie in 100m freestyle (7s off).

And great swims with pbs for all by Lizzy and Phoebe Ferris, Ella McGeorge, Ysla Mitchell, Milli Arkwright who also achieved very strong first times in 11-12Y 200 IM and backstroke, Angus Kennedy and RoryMiles.

A club spokesman said: “This was a very encouraging start to the new season for the determined Cupar team.”