Four swimmers from Wycombe District Swimming Club (WDSC) all achieved personal bests when they competed in the British Swimming Championships.

The event, which was held at the London Aquatics Centre on 14-18 April, saw WDSC participants James Eddy, Millie Sansome, Luke Thomas and Ethan Carter race the best swimmers from across the country in their respective age groups.

After qualifying for the boys 100m backstroke final in a personal best time of 59.60, Eddy swam his way to an eighth place finish – less than two seconds behind the swimmer in third.

Sansome managed PBs in both the girls 100m and 200m backstroke, reaching the final of the former where she also managed an eighth place finish. The 13-year-old’s time of 1:07 ranks her in the top five of her age group in the UK.

The oldest of the four WDSC competitors was boys club captain Luke Thomas, who swam in the 1500m freestyle before a sterling effort in the under 17/18 400m saw him qualify in sixth place for the final.

A time of 4:32 in the final was a PB for the 18-year-old and saw him finish fifth overall – a swim which puts him third in the country in his age group.

Carter competed in the 50m freestyle but a PB of 25.3 in the heats wasn’t enough for him to make the final.

The club’s remaining performance squad swimmers competed at the Guildford Meet and Crawley Spring Meet over the course of April.

There were lifetime bests for James Baxter (100m and 200m fly) and Nicole Ryan (100m backstroke and 400m free), while Sophie Millen and Rachel Cox both achieved seasons bests in the 200m freestyle at Guildford.

Elsewhere strong swims from George Simmons, Timur Gulyiyen, Ben Goldfinch, Cameron Brooker, Tom Sansome, Kate Lees, Yusuke Legard, Oliver Ross and Madeline Turner helped WDSC become the top visiting club at the Guildford Meet.

Coach Kevin Brooks said: “This window of 9 days of competition has worked superbly, all the swimmers truly stepped up and performed. It’s rewarding to see this type of improvement after the months of hard work they’ve all been going through.

“Swimming is a tough sport, for sometimes little improvement, but it just shows that if you work hard, commit to your sessions and improve on skills, then you can perform and reach the next level.

“So many swimmers this season are experiencing new heights of competition and I and the coaching team will ensure that they have all they need, in order to take them to the next level.”