RUGBY Artistic Swimming Club celebrated triple medal success at the virtual Swim England Artistic Swimming National Senior and Masters Championships.
The event, for swimmers aged 18 and over, included former international level swimmers and current European and World Masters’ medallists.
And the club was represented in all four categories across the age groups by 11 swimmers, taking home three medals.
Rugby SC won gold in the Technical Team (50-64 years) category represented by Ruth Macallum, Cathy Reekie, Alison Richardson and Joyce Williams for their ‘Eurythmics’ medley routine.
And Macallum and Williams would then go on to claim silver in the Technical Duet for their age group for their routine to the classic song ‘A Couple of Swells’.
The medal haul was completed by Sandra Anstruther and Julie Bowler-Smith who took bronze in the Technical Duet for their age group for their ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed routine.
Both Anstruther and Bowler-Smith were also part of Rugby’s Technical Team (35-49 years category) and were joined by Emily Kay, Anna Kempson, Annette Parker and Meredith Whiting to secure a fourth place finish.
Lastly, Nayana Walker finished fifth in the Technical Solo (18-24 years) category with a brilliant individual performance.
Anstruther said: “It helped that we are all good friends, but we also had an amazing coach, Dawn Broad, who supported us and worked so hard to keep us focussed. We couldn’t have done it without her.”
The swimmers only returned to the pool last summer after an 18-month break from training because of coronavirus restrictions with the event held virtually for the first time.
Having returned to the pool, the swimmers have set their sights on the Midlands Regional Championships in April, which will hopefully provide a return to face-to-face competition before the European Championships get underway in Rome in August.
Anyone feeling inspired to try artistic swimming in Rugby can contact Head Coach Hannah Secher at [email protected]
