37 swimmers, 17 medals, 9 days, 2 Venues, 1 club!
West Norfolk Swimming Club made a remarkable impression at Swim England’s East Region Regionals, which took place over three weekends from March to May.
A talented team of 37 swimmers represented the club at the events held at Sportspark UEA Norwich and Inspire Luton Sports Village.
In the 50m Butterfly, Valeria Soldatihhina, Olivia Bradford, Millie Harris, Alex Pattison, and Jamie Wilson all reached their respective age finals, with Olivia clinching gold and setting a new personal best of 28.85 in the 13 years category, while Valeria earned silver with a commendable time of 32.07. Alex and Jamie finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in a highly competitive final.
The 100m Butterfly saw Valeria and Olivia secure silver medals in their age groups, with Elizabeth Litvinenko also taking home bronze. Alex and Jamie finished fifth and seventh in their finals. Valeria and Elizabeth continued their success in the 200m Butterfly, winning gold and silver, while Sam Liddell placed fifth.
Valeria also showcased her versatility by competing in all three backstroke events, earning silver in the 50m and 100m backstroke, and finishing eighth in the 200m final. Whilst Tobias Oglesby secured the gold for the 50 m backstroke in the 17+ age category.
The 50 m breaststroke event showcased a thrilling finish between Josh Jones and Thomas Baxter in the 16 years age category, with Josh taking seventh and Thomas eighth. Meanwhile, Sarah O’Brien achieved a commendable sixth place in the 17+ category final.
The competition continued to heat up in the 100 m breaststroke, where Josh finished fifth and Thomas seventh in their age group, while Finlay Ryan clinched a bronze medal in the 17+ category with a faster time than his earlier heat.
In the 200 m breaststroke, Sarah placed eighth, and Alex finished sixth in the 15 years category, also improving his time from the heats, while Josh secured another bronze, shaving three seconds off his previous heat time.
Transitioning to the freestyle events, Valeria competed in the 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m freestyle races, finishing fourth in the 50 m, seventh in the 100 m, and fourth in both the 200 m and 400 m events.
Polly Anderson, representing the 13 years age category, placed eighth in the 50 m freestyle final, improving her time from the heats. Olivia, competing in the 14 years category, achieved a fourth place in the 50 m freestyle with a faster time than her heat and finished fifth in the 100 m final. Millie, swimming in the 17+ category, earned a silver medal with a second-place finish in the 50 m freestyle, clocking in at 26.88 seconds, which was an improvement from her heat time of 27.01 seconds, she also placed fifth in the 100 m freestyle final.
Tobias competed in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events in the 17+ age category, achieving a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24.19 seconds, while finishing fourth in the 100-meter freestyle final with a time of 54.25 seconds. Jamie Wilson also made his mark by placing sixth in the 200-meter freestyle final.
Valeria excelled in the individual medley events, securing silvers in both the 200 m and 400 m.
The 400-meter medley team, which included Thomas Baxter, Josh Jones, Jamie Wilson and Alex Pattison, finished seventh.
Despite not reaching the finals in their respective age categories, several swimmers, including, Martha More, Ruby Baxter and Harry Clarke showcased impressive performances in highly competitive heats. Congratulations to all our swimmers who participated over the three long weekends of the 2025 regionals, and a special thanks to our sponsor, Supercrete Groundworks, for providing the team kit, as well as to the coaches and team managers for their support.
