Nineteen British records fall to round off thrilling opening day

Nineteen British records were broken in Friday evenings session at the 2023 British Masters Championships in Sheffield.

It was a night full of fast-paced action where ten teams took home new British relay records.

Six of those were broken in the 4x100m Medley Team event which got the night’s action underway.

Trafford Metro broke two of those records with one coming in the Men’s and one in the Women’s races.

They broke the British best in the Men’s 120+ Years category with a 4:08.68 which beat the previous top time by almost three seconds.

Their team was made up of Jonathan Altoft, Joseph Keeley, Craig Ward and James Simpson as they finished 7.89 clear of the Birmingham Masters team that won silver.

Emily Conway, Charlotte Taylor, Charlotte Taylor, Louisa Zolkiewski and Victoria Cunningham then took to the pool for the club in the Women’s 72+ Years category where they also set a new national record.

The Trafford Metro quartet beat their club mates to the gold medal with the club also taking second with the team of Bethany Hogg, Mala Rajput-Driver, Molly James and Laura Head finishing around 20 second back to win silver.

Warrender Baths 240+ Years and Otter’s 320+ Years Men’s teams also set new British records.

The Warrender Baths group of Jason Kenney, Keith Johnston, Mark Jones and Ian McKay set a 5:14.25 to knock nearly eight seconds off the previous best time.

Whilst Otter’s quartet of Anthony Ray, Robert Thomas, Derek Parr and Rogger Lloyd-Mostyn finished in 8:09.36 as they became the first British team to set a time in their age group.

Gateshead and Whickham and Exeter Masters got their names into the record books in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Team.

Nuala Muir Cochrane, Verity Dobbie, Judith Pearson and Joan Edwards set a new national best by just 0.32 in the 240+ Years contest.

They set a new record of 5:36.95 for their efforts.

Exeter’s 200+ Years knocked nearly ten seconds off the record with a 5:07.46.

All four of Heidi Bell-West, Katie Pateman, Philippa O’Grady and Adele Parham impressed throughout the race as they finished 8.85 ahead of silver medallists Gloucester.

Relay records continue in Friday’s final event

The relay records weren’t done there as five more records were broken in the 4x50m Freestyle races.

Four were set by teams whilst David Emerson of East Leeds also set a 50m Freestyle record during his race.

Emerson’s time of a 26.19 for the opening leg of East Leeds’ earnt him a British record as he helped send his team for bronze in the Men’s 240+ Years race.

The team were beaten by an incredible Warrender Baths quartet that set a new British record for the event.

Ian McKay, Jason Kenney, Keith Johnston and Mark Jones teamed up to set a new record time of 1:51.82 which bettered the previous best by 0.76.

Dartmoor Darts’ quartet of Matthew Henry, Sonny Trigg, Regan Lloyd and Kieran Preston also joined the record books with a 1:36.15.

It gave them the 100+ Years Men’s record by 1.86.

And Trafford Metro got what was their fourth record of the session.

Neville Barton, Ashley McEwen, Neil Mackinnon and Alec Johnson finished the Men’s 280+ Years race with a time of 2:06.73.

It was a phenomenal swim from the group as their time saw almost six seconds come off the previous record of a 2:12.65.

There was also a British record in the Women’s 4x50m Freestyle relay.

It went to Basingstoke’s 160+ Years team after they finished 3.55 ahead of their nearest challengers.

They won gold with a new British best time of a 1:52.87.

Their team was made up of Elizabeth Godfrey, Sarah Hunt, Alex O’Kelly and Fleur Turner.

Fordham stars in Women’s 200m Freestyle

Alyson Fordham was the star of the show in the Women’s 200m Freestyle.

The Bishop Stortford swimmer became a British record holder in the 65-69 Years race with a time of 2:38.23.

That beat the previous best by 1.31 as she beat Joan Edwards by 3.10 to claim gold in the event.

There were also two new Welsh records set in the event as Julia Buchanan and Claire Williams.

Buchanan set a 3:11.45 in the same 65-69 Years race as Fordham whilst Williams finished in 2:21.49 in the 30-34 Years event.

Johnson enters the record books

The 100m fly was one of the much-anticipated races of the day.

During the event another British record was broken by Alec Johnson who recorded a time of 1:07:87, beating the old time of 1:08:16.

The 61-year-old currently swims for Trafford Metro, a team that has also done well so far at this years British Masters and won four records across this evening’s session.

Two records fall in Men’s 200m Freestyle

The Men’s 200m Freestyle event saw another two British records broken.

One by 65-year-old Colin Stephenson and another by 60-year-old Mark Reynolds.

Stephenson swims for Gloucester Masters and narrowly beat the British best. He managed to swim an impressive 2:22:14 with the old time being 2:22:72.

Reynolds on the other hand made sure he had time to spare after beating the old time by more than a second.

He swum a 2:13:22 compared to the old British record of a 2:14:69

Four British bests in the Women’s 100m Butterfly

The British records kept on coming in the Women’s 100m Butterfly as four women set new benchmark times.

Elizabeth Woolner’s 1:11.71 gave her the gold medal and a British record in the Women’s 100m Butterfly.

The Team Anglia swimmer knocked 1.06 off the record in the event as she won her age group by 14.84.

Woking swimmer Michelle Ware won the 50-54 Years event with a 1:09.00.

She was fastest by 6.71 seconds as she was the only swimmer to swim under the 70-second mark.

Her new record bettered the old time by 1.15 as she got the clubs only national record of the session.

Elizabeth Bellinger narrowly bettered the British best time in 45-49 Years category.

The Bishop Stortford swimmer knocked 0.16 off the record in an impressive display from the 45-year-old.

And Amanda Heath ended her birthday in style as she knocked 0.95 off the British record in the 65-69 Years age group.

She set a 1:30.45 to win silver in the event after Guernsey’s Esther Iseppi won gold with a 1:30.45.

You can see all the results here.

Images – Morgan Harlow