Plymouth College swimmers triple gold national champions at ESSA finals

On Saturday 16th November, 24 Plymouth College swimmers travelled to London to compete in the finals of the 2019 English Schools Relay Championships.  

The Championships consist of a 4x50 Freestyle relay and 4x50 Medley relay for Juniors (Year 7-8), Intermediates (Year 9-10) and Seniors (Year 11-13). The top 30 teams from around the country, as ranked from the divisional rounds held in September, are invited to attend.

Originally the home to the London 2012 Olympics, the Aquatic Centre has provided many exciting races over the last 7 years, including the European Championships, and of course the ESSA finals each November. The impressive venue provided some more fantastic racing, and inspired our swimmers to great performances.

After a long (and delayed) journey, the team talk involved explaining to swimmers what a perfect opportunity this was for them to represent their school with pride. There are few opportunities in the sport where swimmers can represent their school, and perhaps even fewer where all the races are relays. For this reason, it was extremely important to recognise the value of team spirit and for the swimmers to feel invested in each other’s performances.

This year we had three teams emerge as national champions, which is always a fantastic achievement against stiff competition from schools around the country.  

It was really impressive to see the step up in times, but also mentality of our swimmers from the heats to the finals. The top 30 teams had to become the top 10 teams, before the swimmers could battle for their medals. There was a change in their mind-set before the finals and the competitive spirit was obvious.  

Well done to all our swimmers for their efforts.

Roberto Pavoni 
Deputy Director of Swimming

Director of Swimming’s Comments

I am very pleased with the great results at the ESSA National Finals. All swimmers competed brilliantly, and swam fast with good technique and skills, despite the fatigue from training and the long trip to London. Well done to all the swimmers.

Robin Director of Swimming 

2019 ESSA Relays Finals, London Aquatic Centre, 16th November 

Congratulations on first place to…! 

• Senior Girls Freestyle: Honey Osrin, Greta Kolbeck, Sophie Freeman, Nicole Ricci 
• Senior Boys Freestyle: Filippo Coacci, Benjamin Fannon, Batuhan Paker, Reid Jones 
• Senior Boys Medley: Samuel Perks, Filippo Coacci, Eliot Desforges, Reid Jones 

• Congratulations on third place to…

• Senior Girls Medley: Honey Osrin, Lucia Grant, Sophie Freeman, Nicole Ricci 

Congratulations on finals to… 

• Junior Boys Freestyle: George Hayward, James Blackwell, Panagiotis Angelakis, Oliver Dennis 
• Junior Boys Medley: James Blackwell, Oliver Dennis, George Hayward, Panagiotis Angelakis 
• Junior Boys Medley: James Blackwell, Oliver Dennis, George Hayward, Panagiotis Angelakis 
• Intermediate Boys Freestyle: Berk Emre Paker, Finn Broekhoven, Stepan Bazhenov, Liam Marshall