On Saturday, a squad of Abingdon swimmers travelled to Birmingham for the ESSA National Swimming Finals, held at the same pool used for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. After strong performances in the qualification rounds back in September, both our Intermediate and Senior teams had earned places in the finals for the medley and freestyle relays. Going into the event, the Senior team were ranked 13th and 22nd, while the Intermediate team were seeded 12th and 13th respectively.
The competition itself was stacked with talent, as many of the schools fielded swimmers who are current world champions, European record holders and British age group champions, giving Abingdon the opportunity to perform directly against the very best in the world.
The day started superbly with the Senior team of Elijah, Ralph, Ethan and Monty smashing the heats seeding and finishing 7th in the final. They also broke the U18 school record held by OAs Can, Chris and Joe, an incredible achievement. Ralph, Ethan and Monty now hold the school relay records in every age group, a special achievement in their final ESSA national competition for the school.
Meanwhile, the intermediate quartet of Clement, Kaan, Alex and Satoshi swam a cracking race, seeding them 5th for the final. Against all odds, they finished 4th in the final only fractions behind Repton, Mount Kelly and Millfied. It was without a doubt one of the greatest sporting achievements in the school’s history.
Both teams also qualified for the freestyle finals finishing in 9th and 10th respectively, an impressive result given their initial rankings and the strength of the field.
Overall, the performances from both teams demonstrated that Abingdon belongs firmly among the top tier of school swimming in the UK. A huge thank you goes to Mr Mason for his support throughout the season and on the day itself.
Written by Ralph, Upper Sixth
