GSC off to best start in Hants

THE Guernsey Swimming Club had their best ever start to a Hampshire County Championships over the weekend. Entering a relay team for the first time, the young girls had no idea of the quality of their opposition, but in the first team event, the 200 freestyle relay quartet of Kristina Neves, Ellie Ogier, Nicole Hewlett and Alex Butt finished a creditable 12th out of 22 teams.

The medley relay was always going to be their stronger event and they found themselves as third-fastest qualifiers for the final in which Neves got the team off to a strong start on the backstroke and then handed over to Hewlett for the breaststroke leg.

The team from Portsmouth Northsea led from start to finish but the young GSC side had a real battle on their hands with the one from Rushmoor Royals.

Neves had handed over to Hewlett in second place but by the time the latter handed over to Ogier for the butterfly leg, the Sarnians were still in second place.

Ogier handed over to Butt for the final leg and the team were still second.

Butt swam an excellent final leg in her first Hampshire Champion-ships to bring the team home to win the bronze medal.

There were 20 individual swims for the GSC on this the first weekend of the championships and 10-year-old Neves won all three of her events.

In the 800 and 400 freestyle and the 100 individual medley, she recorded one lifetime personal best and obtained one qualifying time for the South East Counties Champion-ships.

Luke Winberg won both his events in new personal-best times and goes into the second weekend having secured valuable points in the 400 freestyle and 100 individual medley.

The other GSC victory came in the 12 years' 1,500 metres freestyle in which James Hewlett recorded a 47-second personal best to win the event.

Pierce Gregory, Luke Bourgaize, Butt, Hewlett and Ogier all recorded personal bests in their individual swims.

Matt Butt felt the effects of a recent cold and found it difficult to maintain his usual pace in the 1,500-metres freestyle.

However he was pleased with his placing of second, sixth and seventh from his three individual events.

Butt won't be attending the second weekend as he dons an English tracksuit to represent the country at the

Home Nations' Schools Championships in Dublin.