Rebecca’s treble

All club members excelled themselves at the event but Man stole the limelight with three breathtaking performances.

The ladies’ 100m backstroke record was broken for the first since 1998, the 100m freestyle best was breached for the first time since 1987 while the record for the 100m fly, which had stood since 1990, was surpassed by over a second.

Man’s achievements were the highlight of an entertaining competition, which saw plenty of close contests.

Hannah Marklew and Charlotte Portsmouth could only be separated by 0.17secs during their 50m breaststroke, resulting in a gold medal for the former.

In the male event, Hans-Patrick Rieckhoff led from start to finish to take the trophy.

Sadie Desmond was crowned champion in the ladies’ 100m breaststroke after prevailing in a neck-and-neck battle with Lauren Allan. Bethan Whittall swam well to claim bronze.

Chris Jones and Scott Walden kept the audience on the edge of their seats with another thrilling race in the 100m breaststroke event.

With only 0.22secs the difference, Jones took gold, Walden silver and Aaron Fryer bronze.

Age group winners were Sarah Anthony, Jones (D Group), Allan (C Group), Desmond, Fryer (B Group) and Whittall, Alexander Schooling (A Group).

In the masters’ event Louise Miles led from the start to take gold, with Nicky Brunell earning silver and Julie Heffell claiming bronze. The male equivalent saw Nick Read win the trophy with Gareth Manning second and Andy Cadman third.

Charlotte Portsmouth took the 50m backstroke title with a confident swim, finishing ahead of Marklew in second and Bethany Carr in third.

Rieckhoff then took his second title of the night winning the boys’ event. William Walden was second and Luke Bassett was third.

Other age group winners were Anthony, Scott Walden (D Group), Abigail Portsmouth, Fryer (B Group) and Whittall, Oliver Cadman (A Group).

In the masters’ races Julie Heffell led from the off and never relinquished her advantage to take the trophy with Charlie Goodes-Wilson second and Brunell third.

Gareth Manning took the men’s title with Read second and Steve White third.

On the second day of competition an interesting opening race, the 25m fly, saw Marklew and Charlotte Portsmouth finish in a dead heat. Marklew though got the nod.

In the boys’ race it was a third crown for Rieckhoff who won ahead of Joshua Westlake and Lee Manning.

Jennifer Scott took the trophy in B Group while Whittall enjoyed a great swim to take the A Group title.

The male events saw Scott Walden clinch the D Group title, Fryer claim B Group and Oliver Cadman take A group. Masters winners were Goodes-Wilson and Gareth Manning.

In the 50m freestyle event, Marklew and Charlotte Portsmouth again vied for supremacy. In a very close race, with just 0.17secs separating them once more, Marklew took gold and Charlotte silver with Carr coming home in third.

Rieckhoff enjoyed a clean sweep as he won his fourth title in the 50m freestyle. Wiliam Walden was second and Harry Fairman was third.

Desmond was a winner in C Group and Whittall took another title for A Group while Oliver Cadman was 10 seconds ahead of the field in his A Group freestyle race.

Fryer won another title in B Group and Scott Walden also claimed another trophy for D Group while in the masters’ events, Goodes-Wilson recorded an impressive win over Helen Dickens and Miles.

The men’s race was won by Gareth Manning with Andy Cadman second and Read third.

Trophies were presented at the end of the galas and Charlotte Portsmouth and William Walden were awarded the most improved cups.

Scott was presented with the Turk Cup while Matthew Strudwick received the Leonard Cup.

Younger swimmers have also been competing in the Southern Junior League and after two rounds are placed equal 17th in the league.

Notable performances so far have come from Scott, who won the 50m fly, Fryer in the 50m fly, Whittall in the 50m freestyle and Lily Young in the 50m breaststroke.