FARNHAM Swimming Club (FSC) is celebrating its most successful championships, having finished ranked eighth out of 20 on the Surrey County Championships medal table.

It was a phenomenal achievement considering the size of the other clubs competing.

The championships began on the weekend of February 5-6 at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, with swimmers across all age groups smashing their personal bests and securing places in the finals.

FSC’s first two bronze medals went to Alexander (Xander) Brown in the 200 breast and Andrew Hooper in the 100 free and the first gold went to Zack Westhead in the 200 breast, firmly securing his place at next month’s British Championships.

Day two of the championships saw the swimmers growing in confidence and the day finished with a medal tally of two gold and three bronze and a total of 13 lifetime-best swims.

Golds went to Cillian Lee and another gold for Zack in the 100 breast.

Bronze medals went to Xander Brown in the 200 back and Tom Noël in the 400 free.

Shortly after this, Lucy Pieterse stepped up to the plate more confident than ever and destroyed her 800 free, beating her closest rival in the lane next to her to secure the third bronze for the day.

The swimmers and coaches had a week to reflect and recover and get back into the pool for training – but storm clouds were gathering and for all those planning travel to the London Aquatic Centre to compete in the next stage of the championships, would impending Storm Eunice present too much of an obstacle for the swimmers to continue their success?

Of course not!

Undeterred by 80mph winds, all the swimmers arrived safely in London for the next stage of the championships.

Another gold medal went to Cillian Lee who became county champion in the 50 breast, described by head coach Sean Bailey as having ‘won with such dignity, showing a level of professionalism unheard of in such a young talented swimmer’.

Battling through the elements, Andrew Hooper had travelled down from Loughborough in the early hours to not only win silver and bronze but smash his Commonwealth trials time twice, once in the heat and then again in the final for the 50 free. An epic result.

Hannah O’Mahony won bronze in the 50 back and yet another bronze went to Bronwen Price who smashed her 50 fly time to 29.99.

At the age of just 14 she qualifies for the 2022 British Championships (Commonwealth trials).

Sunday was relay day and FSC entered an impressive 17 teams competing over 22 events.

The relay events give many swimmers their first taste of racing at county level so, considering this, it was no small achievement that, unlike most clubs, FSC did not get one single disqualification.

Every single team swam brilliantly and were a true representation of the unique team spirit of the FSC family.

But one team stole the show. The 10-11 year boys 4x50m medley obliterated the opposition, becoming county champions and bringing home yet another gold for the team.

The coaches spent a quiet week, resting their – by now – very hoarse voices in preparation for the final weekend of the championships back at the Surrey Sports Park.

Tom Noël and Xander Brown kicked off proceedings, winning silver and bronze in the 100 back.

Later that day Zack achieved his third British Championship qualification time and his third county championship title, winning the sixth gold medal for the club.

Three weekends of racing were brought to a close on Sunday with two more bronze medals for Tom in his 200 IM and 100 butterfly races, and another silver for Zack.

The final highlight was an incredible swim from 13-year-old Lucy Pieterse who smashed her best time and finished ranked five in her age range – from an entry of 11th – and smashed the south-east region consideration time.

A club spokesman said: “What these swimmers have achieved post-pandemic is astonishing.

“FSC now has swimmers on every rung of the competitive ladder, from open meets and county championships right up to national and international trials.

“There is an energy in the club, driven by the coaches and all the volunteers who dedicate their time behind the scenes and, of course, by the swimmers themselves.

“FSC has always called itself a family and this nurturing, kind and empowering spirit is working.

“With the regional championships just around the corner, there is even more excitement ahead, but no shouting for the time being, as voices need to be rested ahead of all the cheering to come!”