COLCHESTER Swimming Club held their county qualifier at Braintree Swimming and Fitness Centre.

The final home meet of the calendar year saw a whopping 91 swimmers compete for Colchester on a highly-competitive day, ranging from those doing their first galas to seasoned Masters.

Twenty-one different clubs were represented, as swimmers came from across the region attempting to gain or improve upon the required Essex county times ahead of the December 31 deadline.

On a thrilling day of racing, Colchester won a staggering 188 medals - 68 gold, 53 silver and 67 bronze - with the boys winning a total of 93 medals and the girls 95.

Emma Jordan, coach at Colchester Swimming Club, said: “To see almost 100 of our swimmers competing at our home meet was an incredible sight.

"The medal count was absolutely phenomenal and I’m delighted so many swimmers secured those all-important county times ahead of the Essex Championships, with some also securing regional times.

"I was really pleased to see such fantastic examples of team camaraderie displayed throughout the day, too.”

Jordan added: “It would be impossible to list everyone who swam well with so many PBs, technical improvements and well-executed race plans but the three that caught my eye were Archie Tebbutt, Sandijs Cecins and Mark Milburn.

"Archie (nine) won seven golds as his great form continued and Sandijs (11) yet again impressed with six golds and three silvers and he smashed his personal bests on his 50m and 100m fly to gain regional times in both.

"Mark (14) also deserves a special mention as he won four golds, one silver and one bronze and put in a spectacular swim on his 200m breaststroke to smash his PB and finish in 2:35.58.”

Michelle Young, head coach at Colchester Swimming Club, concluded: “I would like to thank and congratulate all of the swimmers, coaches, officials and volunteers for putting on a brilliant meet.

"Good luck to all of our swimmers who will be competing at the Essex County Champs that start in February.

"You should be very proud of your achievements.”

Colchester will be expanding further in Easter.

As a broad-based club, they cater for swimmers of all ages from Academy right through to Masters.

If you are interested in finding out more, email chief.coach@colchesterswimming.com