AT the end of last year, Merchant Taylors’ junior boys and girls took the AJIS Swimming Championships by storm. The prestigious competition took place in Blackburn at the Darwen Leisure Centre and the Taylors’ team had over 20 talented and dedicated young swimmers. Year 6 did exceptionally well taking a medal from every event and setting new records along the way. With such depth to the teams on every stroke, it came as no surprise that both the boys and the girls’ teams won gold in the medley relay and the freestyle relay, with the girls setting new records in both events. Year 6 individual gold medallists were Athena Clayson in the 100m individual medley, Alex Turnbull in the 50m backstroke and Daniel Dunne and Yasmin Leece in the 25m butterfly. Michael Booth took silver in the 100m individual medley, as did Alex Thorpe in the 50m backstroke and Jamie Spinks in the 50m breaststroke. Both Sophie Gillbanks and Kathryn McEvilly took silver in the 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle respectively. Massimo Poli rounded off an impressive medal haul in the under-11 age group with a bronze in the 50m freestyle. Year 5 boys achieved silver in the freestyle relay and bronze in the medley relay. The girls’ under-10s team consisted of Isabella Hughes, Caragh Lal and Hannah Waby-Brown from Year 5 as well as Caitlin Adams and Lucy Atwell, both from Year 4. They performed extremely well, reaching finals in all but three events. Oscar Gonzalez-Dominguez took a silver medal in the 100m individual medley and Josh Johnson and Isabella Hughes claimed a bronze medal in the 25m breaststroke. Junior girls’ swimming coach and ex-England international swimmer, Anna-Louise Hodkinson, said: “I am proud of what the team has achieved this year, and with such a strong Year 6 squad I am hopeful that they will reach the National Primary Schools Relay Finals in Sheffield. This year they will be swimming in the correct age group and that will give them a great chance to improve on the fifth position they achieved last year when they were swimming against children a year older.” The junior boys team have another reason to feel confident as they are currently on a run of 97 swimming matches without defeat. This run stretches back 14 years to March 18, 1998! | 
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