Barnet Distance Meet 2014

Last weekend saw Bluefins travel to Barnet for the ‘distance’ meet. An interesting place to find, but a great meet. Steve Greenfield, Steve Canning, Spencer Turner, Michelle Matson, Sarah Adams, Jo Taylor and Fleur Parker were all in attendance.

Steve Canning started the weekend on the Saturday by a great swim in the 800 Freestyle – taking Gold! Steve then went on to swim the 400 – as Breaststroke and indeed the 200 Free where he picked up bronze. Steve was a great form all weekend and think he really enjoyed himself.  

Kicking off on Sunday was the 400 Freestyle. First up this time was the ladies, with Michelle, Jo and Fleur swimming in the same heat, followed by the Distance Queen aka Ladies Captain Sarah in the final heat. Sarah, Fleur and Jo all won Gold with Michelle picking up Silver.  Sarah finally broke the 5 minute barrier with a cracking 4:56 and a club record.

Steve Greenfield was up next winning the 400 freestyle in what can only be described as a comfortable swim! Spencer was seeded 2nd overall (Top in his age group) to the one and only Paul Palmer – ex Olympian. Spencer went out with Paul and swam a brilliant PB and club record, taking Gold. Paul was great to watch and indeed his first race in 12 years – and Spencer chased him J.

Steve Greenfield swam a great 200 Backstroke, taking Gold and a seasons best time – again looking very comfortable (how does he do it!) Fleur, Jo and Spencer were up next in the 100 Breaststroke – with Fleur taking Gold, Spencer Silver and Jo Bronze.

Our Bluefins Ex British Record holders team of Michelle, Jo, Sarah and Fleur fancied their chances on the Ladies 4x100 Freestyle relay against the team they lost their record to at Swansea. All swam brilliantly and were up for the challenge. Michelle kicked the relay off on the first leg – with a storming 1.04, giving the team a superb lead after an truly gutsy swim. Jo, Sarah and Fleur then followed and the lead continued to grow with the ladies taking the Gold in a time of 4:32.62, 9 seconds ahead of their rivals.

200 Freestyle saw a number of the team in – Jo, Michelle, Fleur, Spencer & Steve. Spencer and Fleur picked up Gold’s, Michelle Silver, Steve and Jo Bronze – great effort from the fins on this one.

Catherine Shearn swam the 100 Fly, winning Gold and beating her entry time.. great swim!

As always another great days racing from the fins… Next up is Rushmoor on Saturday 26th for a Long course meet. This will see Catherine warming up ready for her trip to the World Championships in Montreal over the summer. In addition - Steve Greenfield, Neil Mitchell, Steve Canning, Mark Straw, Michelle Matson, Sharon Lock, Emma Oliver and Fleur Parker are all competing.