COPs stars performed superbly at National Finals weekend

The City of Peterborough Swimming Club team with their new club kit at the National Finals in Cardiff.

Just reaching the finals to compete against the other top 10 clubs in the country is a fantastic achievement for the city outfit.

And to do it 10 times in 14 years is a staggering performance from a club which is usually the smallest whenever they qualify for what is regarded as the ‘FA Cup’ of swimming.

And to do it in 2024 when the club has been made homeless by the closure of the regional pool, and has constantly had to change training schedules – 33 times in all – to fit in with their alternative bases made this one a particularly sweet success.

Jacob Bacon delivered the best individual performance by a COPs athlete as he finished in a brilliant second-place in the 100m butterfly for 13-14 year-oldboys.

And podium places were also claimed by Vanesa Cimermanova in the 15-16 year-old 100m backstroke event and Alfie Larham in the 11-12 year-old 50m breaststroke. They both finished third.

Larham almost bagged a second bronze as he finished fourth in the 11-12 years freestyle race.

Other strong individual performances for the team who finished in ninth place came from..

4th: Olivia Pais 11-12yrs 50m Breaststroke.

4th: Alfie Larham 11-12yrs 50m Freestyle.

5th: Ashton Hunter 11-12yrs 50m Backstroke.

5th: Kieran Ng 13-14yrs 100m Breaststroke.

5th: Anna Mason 11-12yrs 50m Butterfly.

5th: Josh Sackree 15-16yrs 100m Breaststroke.

There was also a fourth place finish for the boys 13-14 years 4 x 50m Medley relay team.

The boys 11-12yrs 4 x 50m freestyle relay finished fifth as did the girls 11-12 years 4 x 50m medley and the boys 13-14 years 4 x 50m freestyle relay teams.

Over 600 teams enter the national competition and COPs battled through three regional events to reach Cardiff.

Head coach Ben Negus thanked his team’s travelling support.

“A huge massive shout out to the best supporters of the meet…our parents and family members…you were amazing,” said Negus.

The club would also like to thank @ales93.aiproducts and @junction_17cars for their support in producing a new kit for the finals.

JOIN THE COPS

COPs are hosting a free trial night on Tuesday, March 19 at Stanground Pool - 5pm - 6pm. To book your place please contact Coach Matt at [email protected]

MONTHLY AWARDS

The COPs swimmers of the month for February were Isla Stewart, Ellie Salt, George Pratt, Emily Page, Josh Coles, Alannah Leadbitter, Grace Stevenson, Megan Bartlett and Erin Stewart.