Swimmers make a splash at champs

Swimmers from Benoni Swim School excelled at the Eastern Gauteng Aquatics (EGA) Championships in December, last year.

March 2, 2017

Logan Green 1 minute read

The Benoni Swim School mixed u-9 4 x 50m freestyle record-breaking relay team of Joshua Kennerley (left), Brogan Jones, Kerry Heatlie (coach), Kendal Pattle and Tyla Williams.

The club moved up from fifth place in 2015 to third place in 2016 with their boys finishing in second place overall.

The event saw a major improvement in their swimmers’ performances and many first time level qualifiers also made the grade.

Jaiden Staines (boys’ 12 to 13 years old) and Brogan Jones (boys’ u-9) both won the victor ludorum trophies in their respective age groups.

Staines also claimed the Senior Swimmer of the event award.

Benoni Swim School had four swimmers make the EGA Strategic Development Squad, namely Daniel Baker, Erin Barnes, Matthew Helps and Staines.

Staines broke four records in his age group in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley.

The 200m breaststroke record was particularly impressive as it had been standing since 1989, while Jones broke the u9 boys’ 100m backstroke record that had been standing since 2008.

Benoni’s mixed u-9 4 x 50m freestyle relay team of Joshua Kennerley, Tyla Williams, Kendal Pattle and Brogan Jones broke the record in that event by 4.45 seconds.

Four of their swimmers in the boys’ 12 to 13 years made the 100m breaststroke final and all four boys achieved podium positions in a phenomenal race.

Staines finished first, Kennerley placed second while Helps and Baker remarkably tied third.

In the 200m breaststroke final, the same four boys made the top four positions.

The swim school’s fifth competitor in the race, Luke Baker, was seventh.

Overall, the 30 swimmers from Benoni Swim School who competed at the championships took a massive nine minutes and 44.46 seconds off the total overall time from the previous year – a 71 per cent improvement in times.