Swimming: Matthew-Stroud wins gold at Wycombe District meet (From Bucks Free Press)

Swimming: Matthew-Stroud wins gold at Wycombe District meet

12:06pm Friday 20th February 2004 in Wanderers By Joe Slade

WYCOMBE District Swimming Club held their 22nd annual open meet at the Wycombe Sports Centre over the weekend, with more than 600 swimmers from 70 clubs from all over Britain taking part.

This year, the standard was higher than ever, with many meet records being broken.

Olympic swimmer Karen Pickering was among many GB internationals competing and she impressed with a superb swimming display.

She won the Open 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle and 50m and 100m butterfly finals.

A very strong team from Millfield School won the top team award from the many-times holders Portsmouth Northsea Ealing Swimming Club.

Ealing were third and the home team Wycombe District only half a point beind Ealing in fourth.

The Wycombe swimmers performed very well, gaining 35 finalists, who won three golds, five silvers and ten bronze medals.

Nine different swimmers shared the club's best ever Open meet performance.

The most successful member was 14-year-old Robert Matthew-Stroud who, competing in the 13/14-years age group, won the 50m freestyle, gained silvers in the 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke, and bronze in the 200m individual medley to complete a very successful weekend.

James Crawford, 15, competed very well, winning gold in the 15/16 years 200m individual medley and bronze medals in 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly.

The third gold medal was won by Anna Jemielty, 14, in the 13/14 years age group 100m backstroke.

Alex Vine, 18, collected a silver medal in the Open 200m individual medley and bronze medals in 100m and 200m butterfly.

Alys Durrant, 14, gained silver in the 13/14-years age group 50m freestyle.

The remaining bronze medals were gained by Katie Ambridge, 13, in the 13/14-years age group 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke, Jeni Howard, 14, in the 13/14-years age group 200m individual medley, Stephanie Wilson, 17, in the Open 100m butterfly and David Ryan, 16, in the 15/16-years age group 100m breaststroke.

Chalfont Otters took part in the Wycombe Open Long Course Open Meet at the weekend, with five swimmers recording 12 personal bests between them Sarah Walker performed best with a third in the 50m freestyle behind Sarah Pickering and Zoe Cray, with Gareth Fowler, Gregory West, Becky O'Brien and Fiona West all swimming well for Otters.

Fowler also took bronze in the 100m backstroke in a time of 1.07.19.

Otters coach, George Bushell, said, "I could not ask any more from my swimmers. Fiona swam exceptionally well to finish so high at her age.

"Gareth and Greg swam well to reach the final of the 100m backstroke and take third and fifth place respectively.

"As for Sarah, to achieve this while only training for an average of three hours a week is outstanding.

"What would she achieve if she could train fulltime?"