RUGBY Swimming Club’s artistic swimmers excelled to win two gold medals at the Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup held at London Aquatics Centre in the pool used at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Combo Cup provides swimmers with an opportunity to compete at a national event for the first tome and returned to the water after a two-year absence due to Covid.
And Rugby’s 13-15 team in Division 2 stole the show with their retro 80’s dance theme to score 61.4667 and come away with the gold medal.
The routine featured different tempo’s and challenging figure formations and was delivered smoothly in an energetic, fun and precise way as the team finished a full two points ahead of The City of Bristol who won silver.
The team consisted of Agata Sitko, Tyra Watson, Amy Buckley, Chloe Barrett-Leafe, Chloe Bartholomew, Imogen Ravenhall, Natalia Rodriguez, and Olivia Barry
Rugby’s 15-18 Division 2 Team 2 also won gold with their own retro 80’s theme with a score of 66.6000 as they produced a thrilling unique and dramatic routine to the delight of the spectators to finish 1.8667 points clear of second-placed City of Salford.
The winning team comprised Charlotte Putt, Eve Howard, India Townsend, Jadine Carroll, Josephine Mozley, Lola Dudkowsky, Matilda John, Olivia Tyers, Poppy Williams, and Sophie Thomas.
Following on from the success of the 13-15 Division Two team, Rugby’s Division 1 ‘Team Aladdin’ missed out on a bronze medal by just 0.1334 of a point in an extremely competitive category.
The team included Beatrice Banks, Emilia Owen, Emily Minor, Freya Twiss, Georgina Stoddart, Harriet Humphrey, Isobel Byrne, Jasmine Farr, Jemma King, Laura Oddy, Poppy Jenkins, and Rebecca Harper
Next in the pool was Rugby’s 12 and under Division 1 team who performed their American music theme with their energetic display garnering a healthy score for a novice squad.
The team was made up by Alice Pavlova, Daisy Clark, Daisy Jenkins, Darcey Townend, Isabella Flaig, Isabella Franks, Kara Anstruther, Kara Duckett, Lucy King, Mabel Chapman, Molly Heard and Leah Anstruther.
And prior to Rugby’s 15-18 gold medal, Team 1 put in a great performance to score 58.8667 points, also in Division Two, with a fearless and lively display.
The team consisted of Ariane Sargent, Edith John, Hannah Hopkins, Jagoda Czuplak, Jessica Barrett-Leafe, Lily Van Vliet, Lola Marsay, and Mia Timothy.
Rugby finished just two points behind the winning overall total with the Combo Cup awarded to the team with the most points combined across all events.
That meant the club handed over the cup to the City of Salford team having won the event in 2021 when it was held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
Head Coach Hannah Secher said: “A fantastic competition and a fantastic way to end our competitive season. I am really pleased for all that competed and represented the club so wonderfully!”
