SWIMMERS RISE TO CHALLENGE

TWO of Hailsham's finest competed in one of the most challenging swim meets of the year, the South-East Region Youth Championships.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th May 2006, 13:01 BST

Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:42 BST

The outstanding Craig Steenhoff raced to three top six finishes.

Third place in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:04.53 was quickly followed by another third, this time in the 100m backstroke in 01:03.74. Craig rounded off a successful meet with fourth in the 100m butterfly with a superb time of 01:01.00.

Having achieved the qualifying time to enter the championships, young Joann Simpson was determined to make the most of her opportunity. Competing in the punishing 1500m freestyle is tough enough, but tackling it in a 50m long course pool for the first time made the race all the more difficult.

Joann rose magnificently to the occasion; her time of 21:04.69 not just placing her fourth in her age group but perhaps more importantly signalling to the region she is rapidly becoming a long-distance swimmer to watch out for.

Swimmers Hailsham