Strong representation at National Competitions this Summer for City of Hereford Swimmers
A strong team of 11 swimmers attended the Swim Wales National Summer Meet between Wednesday 30th July through to Sunday 3rd August 2025 at the Welsh National Pool in Swansea. Nine swimmers were representing City of Hereford with two of the swimmers representing their Dual Club. The club also had one swimmer attend the Scottish National Summer Meet between Thursday 10th and Sunday 13th July. In total, over both competitions, the club achieved 33 appearances in Finals (top 8) and were awarded a total of 4 Bronze medals, 3 silver medals and 8 Gold.
At the Scottish National Summer Meet in Aberdeen, Matilda Byron-Daniel made her debut at the competition following her home nation switch earlier in the year. Two fine swims in the 50 and 100 Freestyle secured her place in two finals. A 10th place finish in the 50 Free was followed up by a heat PB and final PB in the 100 Free the following day. A final swim of 1:02. 94 secured a really impressive 5th place finish.
Ella Kindred (14 Years age group) secured a hat trick of podium finishes in the Freestyle events, claiming double Gold in the 50 Freestyle in a personal best time of 28.37 and Gold in the 100 Freestyle in a time of 1:02.26. Ella touched in Bronze position in the 200 Freestyle recording another personal best time of 2:16.22. A further two finals in the 50 and 100 Backstroke saw Ella finish in 2nd and 4th respectively, securing another lifetime best in the 50 Backstroke in a time of 32.19. A final personal best swim came in the 100 Breaststroke recording 1:27.18.
Bea Jones (18+ Years) also impressively secured a double Welsh National titles, securing Gold in the 100 and 200 Backstroke events. Two season best times were recorded in the process, recording a 1:04.87 and 2:22.82 respectively. Bea added to these titles with an impressive Bronze placed finish in the 100 Free swimming a season best of 58.37, missing out on first place by seven one hundredths of a second that separated first, second and third. Another season best was achieved in the 200 Freestyle, finishing 4th in a time of 2:08.37.
Joe Hamer concluded an impressive National outing with a fantastic swim in the 50m Backstroke recording a 30.99 personal best time in the heat. In the final Joe narrowly missed out on a podium finish to claim 4th. A 4th place was also achieved in the 200 Backstroke final matching his heat swim in a personal best time of 2:39.28. Earlier in the week Joe secured a much deserved Bronze in the 100 Backstroke in a lifetime best time of 1:07.51 to claim his first podium finish. A further two finals in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke produced some exceptional swims, knocking considerable chunks off his personal best times and finishing in higher positions in the final than he qualified from the heat swims. A 2:50.30 in the 200 Breaststroke (three seconds faster than his heat swim) secured a 6th place finish and a 1:19.20 in the 100 Breaststroke secured a 5th place finish. Joe also secured two more personal best swims in the 50 Freestyle (almost breaking the sub 30 milestone in a time of 30.03) and in the 200IM securing a 2.39.28. Joe had a 100% record for securing personal best times over the week.
Bryn Pugh made his debut at the Welsh Nationals in the 12 Years age group this year and secured a Silver in the 50m Butterfly and an impressive Gold in the 100 Butterfly. A 33.06 was recorded in the 50 Butterfly and a personal best time of 1:12.12 in the 100 Butterfly winning by some margin. A further three final qualifications saw further personal best times in the 200 Freestyle (2:32.51) finishing in 5th, in the 50 Breaststroke (41.99) finishing 8th and in the 200 IM (2:48.93) finishing 5th. Further PBs were recorded in the 50 Back, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle.
Morgan Pugh, representing Torfaen Dolphins had a great week with many PBs and competing in two finals. Morgan finished 5th in the 200 Individual Medley in a PB of 2:15.11 and finished 5th in the 200 Butterfly in a PB of 2:19.36. Morgan also went under the 60 second milestone in his 100 Butterfly heat achieving a 59.86 alongside further PBs in the 50 Fly (26.43) and 200 Freestyle (1:58.36).
Samuel Willis competed in four events over the week of swimming and secured an impressive 100% record of personal bests, competing in the 50 Breaststroke, 100 Breaststroke, 50 Freestyle and 100 Freestyle.
Iggy Howe had a really successful week. In the first race of the competition, Iggy produced a time just off his PB in the 200 Freestyle which was an impressive feat as training preparations for Iggy were not ideal. In the 50 Free a super swim secured a new personal best time of 27.85.
Olivia Hayde secured a place in her first National final at this year’s Summer Meet, finishing 8th in the 200 Breaststroke final in the 15 years age group.
Abigail Field had a busy schedule and probably one of the toughest list of events at this year’s competition. Reaching a debut final in the 50 Breaststroke Abi recorded a 39.47 finishing 8th. Later in the week a Bronze placed finish in the 200 Butterfly final was the highlight of the week swimming in a time of 2:35.87. Abi additionally competed in the 200 Breaststroke, 200 Individual Medley, 400 Individual Medley. 400 Freestyle, 800 Freestyle and 1500 Freestyle.
Oscar Evans secured a place in three finals across the championships finishing 5th in the 50 Breaststroke, 7th in 100 Freestyle and achieving a PB in the 50 Freestyle final (26.54) to secure another 7th place finish.
Elin Winstanley followed up her attendance at the British Championships from the previous week with some fine swims. Elin secured three Welsh National titles in the 200 Butterfly (in a PB of 2:31.16), 50m Backstroke and 50 Breaststroke. In the 200 Breaststroke Elin took the Silver in a new PB of 2:48.50.
As mentioned, Elin attended the British National Next Gen Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. This took place between Saturday 19th July and Friday 25th July. For the majority of events this sees the top 24 swimmers in Britain being invited to compete on the National stage in each given event. Elin competed in an incredible 8 events across a five day period, securing Finals in the 50 Freestyle and 50 Butterfly securing an 8th placed finish and 9th place finish respectively.
Head Coach, Graham Begley expressed the success of the swimmers over the final weeks of the season at these National events,
“The performances across all three National events really highlight the commitment that these athletes dedicate to their swimming. Dropping significant amounts of time at this level and achieving significant milestones over the champs has been impressive to watch. It has also been impressive to see the athletes embrace challenges that they are presented with. It’s a really demanding, tough sport and things will always crop up that challenge you mentally and physically. I’m really grateful and proud to work with such a mature, conscientious and driven group of swimmers. We now look forward to the new season ahead of us and see how we can build on this year’s success.”
The new season for the club starts again in September and we have some really exciting competitions and events coming up in the early stages of the season, including a visit from Anna Hopkin MBE as part of the Adam Peaty Race Swim Team. The club are also looking for the next swim starts to join their Academy Squad at the club. If you are aged between 7 and 9 and are competent at Stage 7 swim lessons then you are invited to get in touch. The club is further able to accommodate para swimmers at the club and welcome anyone to reach out to find more information by emailing us at membership@herefordswimming.club.