Atlantis’ star swimmers showcase their potential on the national stage

Lily Davis, Kate Windle, Eleanor Morris and Rebecca Lobley made the trip with Atlantis deputy head coach Andy Lobley for the meet, held between Tuesday July 30 and Sunday August 4.

Lily, 13, swam superbly to reach the final of the 100m backstroke, qualifying in tenth place and finishing one better in ninth.

Andy said:“ We are thrilled with Lily - what a great swim and fantastic experience for her. She really is up against the best in the country in her age group and has performed so well.

“It can be very nerve-wracking but she put in some extremely solid swims and showed her natural racing instinct.

“The standard of swimming at nationals this year was outstanding and we should be excited that we have managed to get so many of our swimmers to this competition in the first place.”

Kate, 13, and Eleanor, 14, each qualified for the 100m and 200m backstroke, with Eleanor swimming a new personal best and Kate slightly outside hers.

Rebecca, 17, qualified in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, just missing out on the semi-final in the 200m distance.

The strong showing for the club is even more impressive considering it is the first time both Lily and Eleanor had qualified for the National Championships.

Lily, Kate and Eleanor competed in the Age Group Nationals, with Rebecca swimming in the British Gas ASA National Youth Championships.

The competitions rounded off the National British Gas Swimming Meet, which has been held in Sheffield over the last two weeks.

Atlantis has recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.

The club offers training and competition at the Pavilions in the Park, Horsham, Billingshurst Leisure Centre and Steyning Leisure Centre.