The Roller Coaster

Posted: Thursday 19th March 2009

of the British Championships

Camden swimmers have an eventful morning of swimming...Felix Samuels, after being so close on Monday to the British Age group 50m free record, swam inside the 100m free record (52.46) with an outstanding 52.40.

However, in what proved to be an exciting race and a clash with all his main age group rivals (boys born in 1993), he was touched into 3rd place by the narrowest of margins. Samuel Straughan finished fastest in 52.35 and David Godridge was 2nd in 52.39 - all three were inside the previous British Age group record.

Also in 100m free, Ed Walsh, who was still recovering from a sprained elbow sustained while finishing 8th in the 50m free final on Tuesday night, swam a cautious first 50m (out in 25.54) to finish in 52.58.

Harry Needs swam a personal best time in 100m butterfly, breaking the 57 barrier to finish in 56.86. It proved to be a nervy race after Harry watched his team mate, Bogac, dive in and get disqualified in the heat before. The starter held the swimmers for an unnecessarily long period. Harry, feeling for his team mate, was out fast in 26.45, clearly proving that he can swim 55 seconds for the event.

Alex Mackay, swimming in his first long course 1500m of the season finished a repeatable 15th with 16.05.39

21-year-old Craig Elliot (Cockermouth swimming club) became the first man in the world to fall foul of the five-day-old international

one-suit rule

Elliot emerged to find that he had been disqualified for breaking the one-suit-only rule in force since FINA addressed concerns over buoyancy in suits at its Dubai Bureau meeting last Saturday.



Warnings were delivered over the public address system in Sheffield both yesterday and today, while coaches were gathered together to reinforce the message to swimmers: one suit only in all cases. Elliot apparently believed that that would not apply to leggings but only full bodysuits.

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