THE Borough of Southend Squad were a hit at the Youth Championships where Sean Tomlin made seven finals and Jonathan Sayer five.

Tomlin continued his impressive season with a great performance in the 200 backstroke, moving up two place in the final to secure silver. He went on to pick up bronze medal in the 1,500m free which was another strong field. In the 200 backstroke Tomlin also won bronze with a big personal best time that was agonizingly 1/100th second outside of this year’s national mark. Fourth places in the 400 free and IM, and eighth spots in the 800 free and 100 backstroke rounded off a fantastic year for Tomlin so far. He now also has his sights on the nationals where he competes in five events in Sheffield.

Finishing the second half of the season strongly, Sayer also swum strongly against some tough opposition. Fighting hard until the end, he put in a great swim to grab bronze in the men’s 400 IM and added fourth in the 800 FS, fifth in the 200 FS and sixth in 400 FS to his collection. Making the 200 IM final and finishing eighth rounded off another successful regional weekend for the experienced Sayer.

Also swimming in the oldest age group at the Youth Championships, George Morris chipped in with three finals, securing fifth, seventh and eighth in the 1,500 free, 400 free and free FS respectively. Swimming an age group below, Adam Carter put in two solid performances to finish 10th and 11th in the 800 and 1,500 free.

This year’s East Regional successes reflect the massive strides that the Borough of Southend squad has made over the past 18 months. Under the guidance of both the swimming committee and head coach Will Brogan, the club has developed both in and out of the water.