Open Water Results

A group of six 12-year olds from Bristol have broken the world record for the youngest relay team to swim the English Channel.

The Bristol English Channel Swim Team (BEST) of Lewis Clarke, James Elmer, Angus Rowley, Danny Pirret, Drummond McMillan and Alex Chantler-Mayne reached the French coast 13.5 hours after setting off from Shakespeare Beach near Dover.

The team completed the 21-mile challenge 42 years to the day after the previous youngest team from the Royal Tunbridge Wells Monson Swimming Club.

Eight charity swimmers have completed a non-stop relay along the 236km non-tidal length of the Thames in support of Help for Heroes. Running from the source in Kemble, Gloucestershire, they swam more than 200km from Hannington Bridge to Teddington Lock in Twickenham.

Inspired by extreme swimmer Lewis Pugh’s 21-day navigation of the same course in 2006, the group finished their challenge in three days, 11 hours and 45 minutes – ending with a well-earned drink in one of Twickenham’s finest pubs.

Britain’s Cassie Patten finished the women’s 10km race in 17th place after leading the event up to the 8km point. The gold medal went to LInsy Heister from Holland. Italy's Giorgia Consiglio took the silver and Germany's Angela Maurer took the bronze.

Patten was Great Britain's only swimmer in the large field.

The men’s 10km Open Water race at the European Championships saw three British athletes race for glory.

The British Open Water Team, powered by British Gas, entered David Davies, Daniel Fogg and Richard Charlesworth into the 10km race and they were pitted against 2009 World Champion Thomas Lurz.

Olympic silver medallist Davies, who was making his return to Open Water swimming, led for most of the race but found that the final 2km was too much and he fell back into the pack of swimmers. World Championship swimmer Fogg swam a promising race and finished in 11th place with a time of 1:54:40.2.

The Championships saw some great performances as Rother Valley Country Park was over taken by young swimmers looking for gold.

Recent BAGCAT winner, and last year’s champion, Caleb Hughes (Mid Beds) got an early lead in the Boys’ race as he took charge leading the pack along with Millfield’s Joel Knight.

The two battled it out at the front of the course as the rest of the group took shape behind. After the first lap the boys were stretching out, with Hughes and Knight sitting in front and the chasing group battling it out for third. With the finish line in sight Knight demonstrated his strength as he upped his stroke rate using everything he had in reserve to power past Hughes who was unable to respond.

Knight avenged last year’s second place finish with the Championships title after touching in 17:03.00. Hughes came in second with a time of 17:16.00 and Harry Smith (UEA Norwich) finished with bronze in 17:25.00.

Katy Whitfield stormed to victory in the women’s 10km at the LEN Open Water Cup in the Netherlands and added to the British Team’s success.

The British Junior Team, powered by British Gas, won two gold medals in the 5km and it was the turn of the seniors to get their chance to shine.

Whitfield held an impressive 20m lead at the end of the race and won gold ahead of Sophie Casson, who won silver. Aynsley Heseltine took fourth place.

The Brits finished in fifth place in the Team Pursuit event on the final day of competition. Tom Allen, Jack Burnell and Emma Graham swam the race and each one looked promising throughout.

The British Team, powered by British Gas, was also named top team overall.

1 Aug 2010 - Rother Valley Country Park

With the rise in popularity in Open Water swimming over recent years, some of the nation’s best young swimming talents took to the water, some for the first time, with the hopes of making their mark on the discipline.

The Boys’ 15-16 years race, swum over 1,750m, was won by Harry Payne of Thurrock who finished in a time of 19:17.20.

31 July 2010 and 1 August 2010 - Hoorn, The Netherlands

Tom Allen and Emma Graham have been crowned European Junior 5km Champions after excelling in Hoorn in the Netherlands.

Allen, who has qualified for the European Championships in Budapest, looked strong throughout the race and won gold to be crowned Champion. Emma Graham excelled in the girls’ 5km to take the title with a good swim.

5,000-plus swimmers took on the one-mile open water challenge at the Royal Victoria Dock near the ExCel centre in London’s East End on 3 July 2010.

The event also featured elite men’s and women’s races, which produced a feast of world-class sporting action.

With superb weather and a water temperature of 21C, the conditions really aided the swimmers and the elite men and women produced superb races that were extremely tight with very close finishes.