Lincoln Vulcans are celebrating a great weekend of swimming with more than 80 competitive swimmers in action at 3 separate events last weekend. 

Saturday 10 October.  In the National Arena Swimming League first round both the A and B teams provided a superb display of swimming in their respective galas.

At Yarborough, the A team took on the challenge of Modernians (Bedford), Cambridge, City of Milton Keynes, Melton Mowbray and Worksop Dolphins taking first place in the gala with a convincing 254 points – 44 points ahead of nearest rival City of Milton Keynes.

Vulcans produced an enviable 24 first places, 12 second, 8 third and 6 fourth places – with no fifth or sixth placings and no disqualifications.

The most exciting race without doubt was the Vulcan win in the Boys 15/U relay with Jack Wright bringing the team home to victory by one one hundredth of a second from City of Milton Keynes.

Amongst the notable swims were 6 official PB performances produced by Kiran Mason (50 br and 50 fc) Alex Simmons (100m br) and teammates Alison Haworth, Jack Buttery and Oliver Richmond in the 100 m backstroke.  While in the relays 5 (unofficial) pbs were achieved in the 50 metre freestyle by Jordan Strathon, Abigail Burr, Lucy Porter and brothers Alex and Lewis Isherwood

Oliver Bitowt broke his own County Record (14yrs) for the 200m Individual Medley posting a time of 2.13.96 swimming in the Men’s Open category.

The B team travelled to Thetford where they faced St Ives, Thetford, Great Yarmouth and Beccles swimming Clubs.  In a closely contested gala they took overall 4^th position.

A string of PB performances were recorded for Anna Chappell, Ben Edison, brother and sister Cameron and Emily McRae, Kate Jolly, Edward Booth, Leanne Roe, Lucy Nicholls, Jude Sheehan, Katrina White and sisters Beth and Emma Penford.

Best Performance went clearly to Beth Penford who, as well as a personal best performance, recorded 3 first places two of which were in the Open Category.

Head Coach Fred Furniss commented:

I was very impressed with the attitude of the A team at Yarborough showing good strong early season swimming and determination throughout.  This was highlighted in the 24 first places and the number of first places we achieved in close finishes.  Credit is due to the attitude of the swimmers.

The B team swimmers and the Vulcan support staff poolside in Thetford displayed a commendable performance after holding 3^rd place in this gala for much of the time it was a great result to achieve 9 first places.’

Sunday 11 October The Masters Section travelled to Cranwell for the Lincolnshire Masters County Championships.  The Masters competition included age groups from 18-24 right up to 70+ .The 19 strong Vulcan team faced competition from Grantham, Gainsborough, Louth CLP, Trenton Dolphins, Boston and Spalding and fought hard to achieve a resounding victory finishing 69 points clear of their nearest rival Grantham to take the Carol Patch Masters Shield back home to Lincoln.

5 County Masters Championships records were broken by Vulcan swimmers Andy Coultard, Fraser Farren, Tina Sudell, Ann Paulger and Harry French with numerous personal bests times also being recorded.

The Vulcans medal haul amounted to a total of 78 with 37 Gold, 26 Silver and 15  Bronze.

Head Coach Fred Furniss commented: There is great unity within the Vulcans Masters section and a positive mind set in terms of their continual improvement.  This is a fantastic achievement for both them and the club.

Lincoln Vulcans is a Swim 21 performance club which welcomes swimmers who wish to develop their competitive swimming abilities. A progressive training programme based upon the ASA Long Term Athlete Development framework underpins the ethos of the club.  For further details about the club, please visit the website – www.lvsc.co.uk