Nine Union swimmers travelled to Gqeberha on Saturday, 24 October, for a day of competitive swimming, with some lovely results and encouraging improvements in the pool.
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ had a particularly successful outing, claiming ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ in the boys’ U14 age group, winning the 50m butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle events, while ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ!
๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐น๐ฎ also enjoyed a very good day, finishing ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ in the girls’ 15-and-over breaststroke, ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ in butterfly and ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ in backstroke. ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ added two podium finishes in the girls’ U14 category, placing ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ in backstroke and ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ in freestyle, along with a fourth place in butterfly.
There was plenty to be pleased about beyond the podium finishes, too. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ improved her times in three of her four events, while ๐๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ-๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฎ recorded improvements in both backstroke and breaststroke, also securing fourth places in backstroke and freestyle. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ shaved valuable seconds off her breaststroke and freestyle times, while ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด and ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป represented Union across their respective events, gaining valuable competitive experience.
Swimming is as much about ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด as it is about finishing positions, and it was particularly encouraging to see so many of our swimmers making progress.
