Records tumble to strength of Titans

UK record holders Pugh, 15, and Townsend, 12, took three golds and a silver between them as the West Midlands regional team took home a brave fourth place from the event at Leeds.

There were a number of personal bests and other medals taken home by the 12 Titans, who claimed seven of the 14 gold medals won by the West Midlands team.

Pugh took two golds, in the 100m when she recorded one minute 0.78 seconds and the 200m fly when she stopped the clock on 2:10.22, breaking both her own regional junior and championship records.

She remains ranked number one in the UK for fly events and her times were the second-fastest in history by a 15-year-old. Her 200m fly time also places her at the head of the European short course rankings for 15 and 16-year-olds.

Townsend also achieved two new personal bests in taking gold and silver medals as well as a place at the top of the UK rankings.

She finished brilliantly to take gold in the 100m backstroke (1:06.55) in a new championship record and silver in the 200m back (2:19.94). She is ranked first in the UK in the shorter event and second in the longer.

Charlie Hutchison, 13, swam in the intermediate division (ages 13 and 14) and set new personal bests with second and third-placed finishes in the 200m (2:08.62) and 100m back (1:00.54) respectively.

Also in the intermediate class was Adam Metcalf, 13, who finished fifth in the 100m fly (1:01.14) and sixth in the 200m fly (2:20.22) after stepping in to tackle events with which he was not familiar.

New Titans member Nathan Wells, 16, competed in the senior division (for ages 15-17) and was fifth in the 200m freestyle (1:55.20) and sixthth in the 400m freestyle (4:02.74).

Jacob Jackson, 17, went home with silver medals from both the 100m (55.87) and 200m fly (2:04.63).

Ellie Bainbridge, 12, enjoyed a fine competition in the juniors and finished with two personal bests, coming fourth in the 100m fly (1:10.02) and fifth in the 200m fly (2:32.14).

Another new Titan, 14-year-old Freya Anderson, wiped out the opposition with two new personal bests and new English Schools Championship records to win both the 100m (1:09.81) and 200m breaststroke (2:31.07).

Anderson took four national age group titles at the British Summer Championships in August. She now sits at the top of the UK rankings in both events.

Yet another new member Phoebe Griffiths, who took the 15-year-old ASA National Open Water Championship title in August, showcased her talent with silver in the 400m free (4:20.74) and bronze in the 800m (8:56.52).

Hannah Knight, 15, had two personal bests as she won silver in the 400m individual medley (4:49.99) and bronze in the 200m IM (2:19.94).

Chloe Golding took gold in a new championship record time in the 200m back (2:11.17), to be ranked second in the UK, and bronze in the 100m back (1:01.45) and ranked fourth.

New Ellesmere member Cassie Wild, 15, turned out for her old region, the North-East and backed up her early season form with silver in the senior girls back (1:01.01).

Titans swimmers helped secure more valuable points in the team relays, but with the likes of City of Birmingham and Royal School Wolverhampton not taking part were unable to finish higher than fifth with 342 points. North East won the event.

Ellesmere head coach Alan Birchers said: "It's a continuation of the form we finished the previous season on. The club and swimmers are working extremely hard and this is why the results are very competitive."