A squad of 20 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended the Jack Beattie Memorial Open on Sunday May 14 in Lagan Valley Leisurplex, Lisburn. The gala was a great success for the young swimmers with a total of seven medals and numerous personal bests.

Twin brothers Ryan and Rory Aiken (14) really enjoyed competing, showing maturity and noted improvement in their swims. Ryan knocked a huge 9.5 seconds off his 50m Butterfly PB and nearly 2 seconds off his PB in the 50m Freestyle. Rory also shaved 2.5 seconds off his PB in 50m Butterfly and another 1 second off his 50m Freestyle. Both were pleased with top 10 finishes across all their events.

Josh Cassidy (13) competed in four races; 100m Breaststroke, 50m Backstroke and secured great PBs in the 100m Freestyle and 50m Freestyle.

Darragh Collins (11) swam in four events coming away with three PBs. The highlight of the day for Darragh was placing seventh in his age group in the 50m Backstroke.

Lorcan Doherty (14) gained new PBs in 100m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle, 50m Breaststroke and 100m Freestyle.

Myah Greene (11) really enjoyed taking part in her first non-local gala where she swam in the 50m and 100m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke.

Sophie Hanna (11) shaved an impressive 15.07 seconds her 100m Backstroke PB as well as achieving another PB in the Butterfly. Sophie went on to have top 10 finishes in the 50m Breaststroke and Backstroke.

A very successful day for Myleene Leonard (11), achieving four PBs and knocking over 30 seconds off her times. Myleene was most impressed with her improvement in the 100m Backstroke and Breaststroke placing eighth and 10th overall. She went on to have two great Freestyle swims placing seventh and eighth.

Holly McCabe (11) competed in three events, the 50m Freestyle and Backstroke as well as the 100m Freestyle, securing new PBs in all three races, knocking nearly four seconds off her Backstroke time.

Martha McCreesh (11) had four top five finishes claiming bronze medals in both the 50m and 100m freestyle.

Jessica Miller (12) was in top form in her Breaststroke events placing second in her 100m and second in 50m, bringing home two silver medals and a new PB. She finished the day competing in the 100m Freestyle, gaining another PB, knocking almost 4 seconds off her previous time.

Ryan Mongan (13) was pleased to see his hard work in training produce PBs in both the 100m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle events. He went on to swim to his PB in the 100m Freestyle race.

Crea Mullen (11) gained a new PB in both 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke. She also took part in two new events, 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly finishing strong in both swims.

Tori Reid (13) maintained her time in the 100m Breaststroke and picked up a 5 second PB in the 100m Freestyle race.

Maeve Rolston-McAuliffe (13) placed seventh in the 200m Freestyle with an 18 second PB and eighth in the challenging 200m Individual Medley event with a whopping 40 second PB.

Erin Salcedo (13) had a successful gala, achieving a bronze medal in 50m Breaststroke. She also secured an impressive PB of 6seconds in her 200m Freestyle, placing her seventh overall, achieving a Summer National qualifying time. Erin also performed well in both her 100m Freestyle (10th place) and 100m Breaststroke (11th place).

Keira Salcedo (11) earned a PB of 3.88s finishing in 8th place overall in the 100m Breaststroke. She maintained her PBs in the 50m Breaststroke and 50m Freestyle events.

Emma Speer (12) who was celebrating her 12th birthday, had a great day picking up two bronze medals in her 50m and 100m Breaststroke and a PB in her 50m Freestyle.

Sarah Speer (14) had PBs in all her three events 100m Breaststroke, 100m and 50m Freestyle races.

Xanthe Walker (14) improved her PB in both 50m and 100m Freestyle by an amazing combined 9 seconds.

Club Chairperson Aideen Speer was proud of all the swimmers’ efforts, numerous medals and PBs, as were their families.

The smooth running of the event was a credit to all the parent volunteers, all supporting the stellar work of the coaching team led by Ben Wiffen and Clare Morris. The club express their gratitude to Lough Erne Resort and Western Cars Enniskillen for their continued support.

These younger Lakelanders will now set their sights on facing Newry swimming club in the next round of the Aquasprint League on May 27 on home ground at the Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen.