12 March 2019
Otter Challenge Cup
On Thursday the U18 swimming squad travelled to London for two days of racing. The evening saw us take part in the Otter Challenge Cup at St Paul’s School. Used by most teams as preparation for the Bath and Otter cup the next day we knew that there was going to be some very fast racing. Wins from Nick Skelton in the 100 back and Ben Lovejoy in the 50 free, followed by second place finishes in the two relays ensured an overall victory for the team in our first time competing for the Cup.
Bath & Otter Cup
Still in high spirits from our win the night before we set off for the London Aquatics Centre the following morning. First up was the heats of the 4×100 freestyle relay. Racing in heat 3 of 8 we had to wait anxiously to see if we qualified for the final, and, by the skin of our teeth, we had. Going into the final as 9th place seed we knew we had nothing to lose. A huge swim from 4th year Rory King, who was racing swimmers almost 4 years older than him, helped us to a good start. An always reliable Scott Yap held on to our place. Ben managed to gain a couple of metres on the leaders before handing over to Nick who finished magnificently to help Abingdon to a 7th place finish.
The afternoon saw the Otter Medley relay. Finishing second in our heat meant that we had done it again and qualified for the final, this time as 5th seed. Stepping up to what was, for some people, their 8th race in 2 days the team gave it their all. A big last leg from veteran swimmer Kai Miles helped Abingdon to a 6th place finish, our best in recent years.
Thank you to Mr Hunter and Mrs Ford for being poolside with us over the two days.
