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Harbour swimmers enjoy record feast

Photo by Mark Tatem

Members of the Harbour Amateur Swimming Club were the latest group to showcase their talents at the T2 Aquatics Norris Foundation Meet, held in Naples, Florida over the weekend.A team of 15 youngsters returned to Bermuda with a bagful of medals and a bunch of national age-group records.Over the three-day meet, the local swimmers enjoyed 80 top-eight placings who set 13 age-group records and recorded a host of personal bests.Leading the way was 10 year-old Emma Harvey who claimed seven records in the 50 and 100 metres butterfly, 50m and 200m backstroke, 50m and 200m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley. She came away with five first-places and two second-place finishes.Her butterfly prowess, in particular, drew the eye of Paul Yetter, the head coach of the host club, according to local coach Richard Goodwin who travelled with the team.Meanwhile, Ashley Irby, also 10, launched her own assault on the record book as she took four age-group records in the 100m, 200m and 800m freestyle and 100m backstroke, claiming four first-place and four second-place finishes.Her 800 freestyle proved to be her best event, as she dipped under the 11-minute mark for the first time with a time of 10:56.18.In an event in the open age category with a field of 23 swimmers featuring Olympian Katie Hoff as the top seed, Irby finished an impressive 16th.Jude Moseley was Harbour’s top 10 year-old boy as he broke his own 200m breaststroke age-group record by almost 30 seconds. He also claimed six first-place finishes in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m and 100m backstroke.Thirteen year-old Tyler Smith also got among the records with a new mark in the 800m freestyle as he finished with top-eight placings in six events.Goodwin commented: “This was an excellent trip for the club and I was especially pleased with the way in which these young swimmers tackled the long distance events, particularly those who had never previously been exposed to a long course, 50 metre pool.“I would like to express my appreciation to the assistant coaches, Janice Irby and Shona Palmer, along with a special thanks to the team manager, Alison Harvey, for all of their hard work and effort in making this trip such a success”.Complete teamGirls9 and 10 Emma Harvey, Ashley Irby11 and 12 Sophie Clare, Kerry Palmer, Lynsey Palmer, Alyssa Paynter, Lizzie ThreshBoys9 and 10 Alex Bordage, Yannick Hillier, Jude Moseley, Myles Packwood11 and 12 Brittan Mosley, Alex Pilgrim13 and 14 Alex McCallum, Tyler Smith