RTW Monson - heading for the International Stage

RTW Monson attended the British Championships in Sheffield on the 17th - 23rd April. Monson sent 4 athletes to the Championships. Jemimah Berkeley and Stephanie Andrews both raced in the 50m breaststroke, Caitlin Fearon competed in the 200m freestyle, and Annabel Guye-Johnson raced the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke.

On day one, the girls participated in the 50 breaststroke and 200m freestyle. First up was Caitlin Fearon who raced hard and posted a time of 2:10.11. Next we had Stephanie who achieved a personal best time of 33.74.

Jemimah was up next. As the youngest swimmer attending her first Championship she swam a superb 34.23.

Finally, Annabel swam a personal best and made the junior final with a time of 32.46. Later that evening Annabel swam the final and finished 5th.

On Day two, Annabel swam in the 200m breaststroke. After a good morning swim, she went into the final as the 4th fastest junior finalist. With a gritty performance Annabel finished 2nd with an East Region Record, and personal best time of 2:30.30.

On the final day of the competition, Annabel participated in the 100m breaststroke. After a great morning swim, she finished joint second in the final, and for the second time, met the qualifying standard for European or World Championships selections policy for the Junior Great Britain team.

Coach Simon said after the final day of racing," it's been a great experience for the athletes. I hope they've come away from the meet with a clear vision of what they need to do to move forward and take the next step, but most of all I hope they had fun. It's not every day you get the chance to swim in the same pool as Olympic champion Adam Peaty." When asked about Annabel, he said, "it was great watching her race this week. We've worked relentlessly throughout this season, and it's paying off. She set three East Region records, and she's only going from strength to strength. It's an exciting time for her and the team."