COPS star Chloe fares well against the best of British

The 20 year-old from Spalding won a bronze medal in the 200m backstroke in a new East Region record time.

Hannam is studying at the University of Arkansas in the United States, where she swims with the Razorback swim team, but while she is in the UK she trains and competes with COPS.

She won her heat in a new personal best time of 2:11.74 and swam even faster in the final to take third place in 2:11.47.

Hannam also made the 400m individual medley final in which she finished eighth.

Three other COPS swimmers swam their way into finals.

Rachel Wellings reached the junior final of the 100m and 200m backstroke, in which she was fifth and sixth respectively, while Leah Roughan came fifth and sixth in the Target Tokyo 200m and 100m breaststroke finals respectively.

Jamie Scholes, who is overcoming the effects of glandular fever, was the third finalist and he was sixth in the 200m backstroke junior final.

Target Tokyo finals are for those swimmers aged 16-20 years who are deemed to be potential competitors for the Tokyo Olympics who aren’t in the senior final a chance to experience the pressure of racing in finals.

Junior finals are for competitors aged 14-18 years, who didn’t qualify for either the Open or Tokyo finals, to try to achieve qualifying times for the European Junior championships.

Other COPS swimmers to have qualified for the British Championships were James Newton, Mollie Allen and Bethany Saunders.

COPS had 21 swimmers in action at the Cambridge April Open at the Parkside Pool in Cambridge.

The main objective of attending was to give those age group swimmers who are close to achieving East Region Championship qualification times another opportunity to make it.

And they managed to achieve 28 new East Region qualifying times.

They also collected 34 medals with 14 of them gold and 11 silver.

Thirteen year-old Matthew Rothwell was COPS top performer with a haul of 10 medals that included five golds in the 50m back and free, 200m breaststroke, 200m and 400m freestyle and five silver medals in the 50m fly, 100m free and breaststroke, 200m back and 200m individual medley events.

Jessica Mahoney (10) had the stand-out performance for the girls taking four gold medals in the 50m back, 100m fly, 200m and 400m individual medley events.

James Rothwell (11) made it a double family celebration by taking two gold medals himself in the 50m fly and 200m breaststroke as well as a silver medal in the 50m free and a bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke.

Stella Blakeley (11) won gold medals in the 50m fly and 200m individual medley and a bronze medal in the 100m fly and 200m free while Harriet Salisbury (11) took gold in the 400m individual medley and bronze medals in the 100m free and 200m breaststroke events.

Other medal winners for COPS were: George Whiteman (11) silver – 50m and 100m fly; Eve Wright (12) silver – 100m back, bronze – 400m individual medley; Madeline Todd (11) silver – 200m breaststroke; Connor Walker (12) silver – 400m individual medley; Holly Graves (11) bronze - 100m back, 400m individual medley; Hannah Daley (11) bronze - 50m free; Matthew Newson (13) bronze – 400m free.

Also taking part for COPS were Lauren Browne (12), Jack Brown (13), Oliver Brown (13), Fabian Brudnicki (12), Sophie Griffin (12), Erivan Hamid (11), Brenna Howell (12), Charlotte Martin (13) and Ella McGhie (12), who claimed her first East Region qualification time in the 200m backstroke event.

COPS assistant coach Debbie Standish-Leigh said: “With the deadline for entry to this year’s East Region Championships fast approaching we set ourselves some high targets at this meet, and our swimmers showed that hard work and determination do pay off.” There was a great team spirit on poolside and some great swimming in the pool.”