Lucy Charles-Barclay - Ironman 70.3 WORLD CHAMPION [Marbella, Spain - 8th November 2025]
One of the most inspiring things to witness in sport is the resilience of true champions β those who are knocked down yet find the strength to rise again. Watching our teammate Lucy do exactly that on the world stage was something very very special. Just four weeks after a heartbreaking DNF in Kona at the Ironman World Championships, Lucy demonstrated exactly what champions are made of, returning with extraordinary determination to win the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. We are so proud of her - not only because becoming a world champion is an exceptional achievement in itself, but it's the way she fought back, with grace, grit, and unshakeable resolve that moved and inspired all of us who get to train alongside her . . . a true champion in every sense of the word.
Wishing Lucy the best of luck in the T100 World Finals in Qatar in a few weeks time - it promises to be a remarkable finale to an unforgettable season!
For a full recap "Heartbreak to World Champion in 4 Weeks" - take a look at the Team Charles-Barclay youtube page for an awesome documentary put together by Lucy's sister - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZYfkRMapf0 [have your tissues ready!]
Representing Middlesex and Essex at the National Inter-County Championships [various pools, 9th November 2025]
Congrats to Reece [Team Essex] & Peter, Matt, Sara, and Christine [Team Middlesex] who were selected to represent Essex & Middlesex Counties at the 2025 National Inter-County Championships!
11th Best Masters Club in England! [Swim England National Championships [Ponds Forge, Sheffield - 24th-26th October 2025]
11th out of 300+ clubs at the Swim England National Championships! This was our best placing on the National-scale yet . . . two places higher than GB Champs in June, and up from 15th place last year . . . Aiming for that Top 10 next year!!! As always with our squad, as well as the impressive medal haul and PB's [see results below], the amazing energy and support [both in and out of the pool] meant that we finished the weekend buzzing and looking forward to next time! Special thanks to Alaine who, depsite being injured, travelled up to Sheffield to support us and be our Team Manager for the weekend!
Results:
Weddings / Socials / Ironmans / 70.3s / T100s . . . and many more!
Not only were we busy in Singapore this summer, it was also a busy summer OUT of the pool! Some highlights below [and also not shown . . . and also some that I've probably forgotten to mention!] include: Beth's first full Ironman [and also another 70.3 . . . all mere weeks before heading to Singapore for Worlds!], Ilya adding numerous other open water races to his portfolio including his first 20K at the Dock-to-Dock . . . James M was also there and completed the 10K, Lucy winning back-to-back T100s in London and Spain, Iago qualifying for the age-group World Championships next year in the Aquabike, James S & Blake competing at the Hever Castle Olympic distance triathlon with Blake qualifying for the World Champs next year, Gerda's first half Ironman . . . not to mention Henry's wedding, a visit from Kyla - our honourary member from New Zealand, and plenty of coffees and birthday celebrations!
NUEL Masters Squad lighting up the WORLD stage! World Aquatics Masters Championships [Singapore - 8th-14th August 2025]
Not only was it our biggest medal haul to date on the world stage - an incredible 3 GOLD, 5 SILVER, 5 BRONZE medals [including results from our honourary members] - there were numerous PB's, Top 10 finishes, British / Championships / Scottish records smashed . . . and we had just as much fun outside of the pool seeing the sights of Singapore! We are so lucky to have such an incredible group of supportive and fun teammates to make these experiences so memorable . . . and we are already excited for what's to come in Budapest 2027 . . . Watch out!
Individual & Relay results:
GOLD: 50m free 35-39 Matthew Brooks 23.04 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD!, [honourary] 50 Fly 55-59 John Cunningham 26.72 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD!, [honourary]100 Fly 55-59 John Cunningham 1.01.04 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD!
SILVER: 800 free 55-59 yrs Peter Dixon 9:31.60, 200m back 25-29 Andrew Sawkins 2:14.72 SCOTTISH RECORD!, 200 free 55-59 Peter Dixon 2:09.29, 50m Fly 35-39 Matthew Brooks 24.60 BRITISH RECORD!, Men's 4 x 50 Medley Relay 100-119 [Andrew Sawkins, Manson Mak, Jeffrey Lo, Matthew Brooks]
BRONZE: 100 back 25β29 Andrew Sawkins 58.36 SCOTTISH RECORD!, 400 free 55-59 Peter Dixon 4.35.07, Men's 4 x 50 Free Relay 120-159 [Matthew Brooks, Joe Northover, Andrew Sawkins, Jeffrey Lo] , [honourary]200 Breast 45-49 Kyla Steenhart 2.57.65, [honourary] 100 Fly 25-29 Leon Berchie 56.37
TOP 10: Christine Jaeggi 40-44 β 200 Fly 2:55.69 β 8th, 100 Fly 10th 1.12.97 / Joe Northover 35-39 100 Fly 6th 59.40, 50 Fly 8th 26.12 / Jeff Lo 30-34 50 Fly 10th 25.65 / Andrew Sawkins 25-29 50 Back 4th 26.92 SCOTTISH RECORD!, 7th 800 Free / Peter Dixon 55-59 100 Free 9th 1:00.16 / Manson Mak 25-29 100 Breast 10th 1:08.24 / Ian Wallace 50-54 800 Free 9th 10:40.51 / [honourary] Wray Shewell-Cooper 60-64 3K Open Water 8th 55.10.09 / [honourary] Kyla Steenhart 45-49 100 Breast 7th 1.21.44, 50 Breast 36.50 / Women's 4 x 50 Free Relay - 100-119 - 10th - Beth Holder, Megan Holder, Xinyan Wang, Eva Prato Luna / Women's 4 x 50 Medley Relay - 120-159 - 8th - Beth Holder, Megan Holder, Christine Jaeggi, Eva Prato Luna / Mixed 4 x 50 Free Relay - 120-159 - 6th - Jeffrey Lo, Matthew Brooks, Xinyan Wang, Beth Holder / Mixed 4 x 50 Medley Relay - 100-119 - 8th- Newham and University of East London - Andrew Sawkins, Manson Mak, Xinyan Wang, Beth Holder
Other SUPER SWIMS: Mixed 4 x 50 Free - 160-199 - 24th- Newham and University of East London - Peter Dixon, Ian Wallace, Megan Holder, Eva Prato Luna / Mixed 4 x 50 Medley - 120-159 - 17th - Newham and University of East London - Joe Northover, Megan Holder, Christine Jaeggi, Matthew Brooks / Men's 4 x 50 Free Relay - 160-199 - 17th - Peter Dixon, Ian Wallace, Dayu Su, Guglielmini Civardi / Federica Noera 25-29 β 200 Breast 3:16.62 β 21st, 50 Free 34th 29.17, 50 Fly 36th 31.45, 100 Breast 20th 1:24.81 / Eva Prato Luna 25-29 β 100 Back 1:22.14 β 39th, 50 Free 95th 33.53, 50 Back 46th 38.99 / Beth Holder 25-29 - 50 Free 68th 30.83, 400 Free 25th 5.25.44, 100 Free 44th 1:09.58 / Ian Wallace 55-59 β 200 Fly 2:48.06 β 12th, 200 Free 15th 2:22.94, 100 Fly 17th 1:13.29, 400 Free 15th 5.05.52 / Guglielmo Civardi 35-39 50 Free 46th 26.65, 50 Fly 35th 28.13, 100 Breast 17th 1:13.61 / Joe Northover 35-39 50 Free 18th 25.11 / Jeffrey Lo 30-34 50 Free 21st 24.40 / Mak Manson25-29 50 Free 63rd 26.28 , 50 Fly 58th 28.03 / Christine Jaeggi 40-44 50 Fly 19th 31.89, [fake] 100 Free 21st 1:13.64 / Megan Holder 30-34 50 Fly 35th 33.27, 100 Breast 22nd 1:31.54 / [honourary] Leon Berchie 25-29 50 Fly 11th 25.57, 100 Free 25th 55.11, 50 Free 14th 24.31 / [honourary] Abigail Goldfinch 25-29 50 Fly 53rd 33.28, 100 Free 48th 1:11.19, 50 Free 65th 30.77 / Xinyan Wang 25-29 200 Free 16th 2.19.39, 50 Free 30th 28.99 / Dayu Su 25-29 200 Fly 15th 2.25.03
Open Water National Masters Championships [Rother Valley Country Park - 27th July 2025]
CONGRATS to the 3 members of the NUEL Masters squad to went up to Sheffield to compete at the Open Water National Masters Championships . . . completing an incredible 26km of racing between them and achieving PBs in ALL their events . . . and coming away with 2 BRONZE medals!
- Ilya: 3K - 9th and 5K - 5th
- Rebekka: 1K - 5th, 3K - 7th and 5K π₯
- Alaine: 1K - π₯, 3K - 5th and 5K - 5th
Individual Accomplishments - a national FINswimming champion, para British triathlon champion, NUEL gala, a 1st time IronWoman . . . and a wedding & babies!
Incredible achievements for:
- Marcus at the British Finswimming long course championships held at the University of Bath on 21st June 2025 [see article written by Marcus below] - 5 GOLDS & 2 SILVERS!
- Josh at the Para British Triathlon championships - 1st in his age group!
- Christine & John representing the Masters squad at the little kid NUEL gala
- Ilya swimming across Ullswater Lake
- Beth completing her very first full Ironman triathlon [and also her 2nd half Ironman two weeks prior!]
- . . . and Olly on getting married! Also celebrating the arrival of a few NUEL babies over the past few weeks/months!
London Region Open Water Championships [Docklands Sailing & Watersports Centre - 6th July 2025]
CONGRATS to our open water swimmers for braving the unpredictable British weather [and the Thames!!!] and coming away with the following results at the London Region Open Water Swimming Champs!
1K π₯Christopher Morgan 50-59
3K π₯Rebekka Bester 30-34
3Kπ₯Alaine Tsang 40-49
3Kπ₯ Pauline Tester 60/over
5K π₯Dmitry Uchakin 25-29
5Kπ₯Ilya Bochkov 40-49
5Kπ₯Peter Dixon 50-59
5Kπ₯Rebekka Bester 30-34
5Kπ₯Victoria Poole 40-49
5Kπ₯Alaine Tsang 40-49
GB Champs [London Aquatics Centre - 13th to 15th June 2025]
An incredible 13th place finish [our of 190 clubs!] at the long course GB Champs in our home pool! Lots of hardware, PB's, British & European records! CONGRATS to our individual & relay team medallists and record breakers listed below:
GOLDπ₯: Andrew 1500 Free, Peter 200 Free, Tori 400 IM, 100+ Men's 4 x 50 Medley Relay (Andrew, Manson, Jeff, Matt B) ***GB RECORD!!!!***, Christoph 200 Fly, Andrew 50 Back, 100+ Menβs 4 x 100 Medley Relay (Andrew, Manson, Joe, Jeff) ***GB RECORD!!!!***, Matt B 50 Fly, Sean 100 Breast
SILVERπ₯: Peter 1500 Free, Chris 400 IM, Joe 100 Fly, 120+ 4 x 50 Men's Free Relay (Matt B, Joe, Andrew, Jeff) **under previous British record!, 100+ 4 x 50 Women's Free Relay (Eva, Megan, Alaine, Fed), Ewan 400 Free, Chris 400 Free, Peter 400 Free, Christine 200 Fly, 120+ Men's 4 x 200 Free Relay (James, Reece, Matt S, Christoph), 160+ Men's 4 x 200 Free Relay (Ewan, Chris, Ian, Andrew), Andrew 100 Back
BRONZEπ₯: Yigit 200 Free, James 400 Free, Ian 200 Fly, Tori 200 Breast, 160+ Menβs 4 x 100 Medley Relay (Christophe, Matt S, Ian Reece), Jeff 50 Fly
Individual Accomplishments!
Shout outs to our squad members who are representing us in all sorts of different events [and countries!] . . . Most recent events and individuals include:
- Alaine - 4th place [and a 4 second PB] at the South East Regions 1500m
- Megan - completed her very first "triathlon" [triathlon in "quotation marks" because the 25mph winds meant the swim was cancelled and replaced with an additional run leg π€¦ββοΈ]
- Leo - travelled to Mallorca to do the 5km Best Fest Open Water Swim Festival
- Lucy - 3rd place finish at the Singapore T100 triathlon . . . and Ironman Lanzarote Champion!
London Region Championship [London Aquatics Centre - 17th May 2025]
Too many pieces of individual and team hardware to list, but we are so proud of our 2nd place overall results at London Region Championships! Our Men's squad came 3rd and our Women's squad came 4th to combine for us to achieve 2nd place overall!
Socials!
Although we spend hours at the pool training and at galas, we still find time for fun out of the pool! Lots of team meals and birthday celebrations these past few months!
Aquatics GB Swimming Championship [London Aquatics Centre - 15 to 20th April 2025]
Congrats to Andrew who once again represented the Masters squad at the [non-Masters] GB Swimming Championships in the 100m Backstroke! And also a special shoutout to Alaine & Eva who were part of the event as volunteers.
Learning from the Best [Everyone Active Open Day @ LAC - 9th March 2025]
Fed & Cathy getting top tips on their starts from none other than Ben Proud [50 Free Silver medallist from the Paris 2024 Olympics . . . and hopefully future NUEL Masters swimmer once he decides to retire from elite racing!]
2nd place at Essex County Masters Championships! [Basildon Sporting Village - 1st March]
After coming in 4th place for the past two years, the team was on top form on Saturday 1st March and achieved our best ever 2nd place finishing! Congrats to the 27 squad members who competed on the day - too many medals and top 10 finishes to list . . . and quite a few people making their NUEL debut!! If you weren't there this year, we will need you next year to have a shot at the top spot!
2nd place Essex Country Masters Championships team: Pouya, Rebecca C, Megan B, Eva, Andrew, Beth, Cathy, AJ, Fed, Olly, Megan H, Reece, Matt, Andy, Sean, Joe, Dian, James, Marcus, Yigit, Christine, Alaine, Coach Chris, Peter, Pauline, Ralph, Donna
Strong start to 2025 at South East Regions [K2 Crawley - 18th & 19th January 2025
Competing a few weeks right after the Christmas holidays is no easy feat . . . just ask this group from the Masters squad who competed in Crawley over the January 18th / 19th weekend! Despite the Christmas cobwebs, some highlights included:
Gold: Andrew [50 & 100 Back], Pouya [100 Breast & 100 Free], Olly [200 Back ***NUEL debut!!!], Matt [100 Breast & 800 Free], Alaine [200 Back], Christine [200 Fly]
Silver: Chris [200 & 800 Free, 100 Fly], Pouya [50 Breast]
Bronze: Chris [400 Free], Andrew [100 Free], Pouya [50 Free], Alaine [800 Free]
4th: Christoph [200 IM ***NUEL debut!!!], Olly [50 Fly], Henry [50 Free]
**** If you happened to notice that one of the photos of Matt below doesn't look like it was taken in Crawley, you are correct! Shortly after competing at SERs, Matt headed home to Zambia and competed at a local league gala there, earning the most points in the 17 & over age group and breaking his Master's PB in his 50 Breast and his Lifetime PB in his 200 IM! Well done, Matt! ****
HO-HO-HOliday celebrations & 2024 End-of-Year Awards
Last few galas of 2024: Barnet 1500, NUEL Open Meet, Inter-Counties, British Finswimming Championships, Essex Winter Games . . . and hanging out with an Olympian
Well done to all of our teammates who represented the squad at the following galas to round off the 2024 competition calendar!
Essex Winter Games - Following his great results at Nationals in Sheffield, Joe was back racing the following weekend representing the Masters squad at the [non-Masters] Essex Winter Games. He came away with these impressive results: 50 Fly 4th [25.25], 100 Fly BRONZE [56.82], 50 Free 7th [23.82], 100 Free 12th [53.42]
Barnet 1500m - Peter, Andrew, Megan and Pauline all completed the gruelling 1500m event over the November 23/24 weekend at Barnet
Inter-Counties - Congrats to Peter and Joe who were selected to represent Middlesex at the National Inter-County Championships. As well both being part of relay teams, Joe also won a Bronze medal in his 50 Fly and Peter came 4th in his 50 Back. Can you spot them in this photo of the Middlesex squad?
Open British Finswimming Championships - on 30th November, Marcus competed at the British Finswimming Championships held at Beceknsham Leisure Centre and came away with an incredible 6 Golds and 1 Silver medals! For anyone who doesn't know much about this branch of our sport, Marcus has written a summary for us below:
Finswimming isn't a popular sport, this is one of the two major events happening in the year (Summer Open and Winter Open). Summer open is usually long course in Bath and Winter Open is usually short course in London.
NUEL Open Meet - our last competition of 2024 was back at our home pool at NUEL-run December Late County Quaifier gala. As usual, we had a good showing from our Masters squad, posting some great swims to finish off 2024.
Meeting Ben Proud - Olympic SILVER medallist! Just hanging out [or bumping into!] Ben Proud - Olympic SILVER medallist from Paris - at post Saturday morning session coffee! No big deal . . . ! He's been invited to join our Masters squad for whenever he decides to "retire" :)
What. A. Weekend! What. A. Team! Success at Swim England National Championships! [Ponds Forge, Sheffield, 25-27 October 2024]
The biggest squad in NUEL history headed to Sheffield this past weekend for the Swim England National Championships and did the club so proud! Not only did we come away with 8 Gold, 10 Silver and 5 Bronze medals [including British, European and Scottish records!], all the PB's and incredible swims helped to contribute to our 15th place overall ranking [out of 274 clubs!] It was also exciting to see so many swimmers making their Nationals debut with the team . . . If this has inspired you to get involved next year, speak to Alaine, Andrew, Beth, Cathy, Chelsea, Christine, Eva, Ewan, Federica, Hanna, Henry, James, Joe, Lucy, Megan, Myriam, Peter, Reece B, Reece M . . . as you can see, there's also time for lots of laughs and food during the weekend! [And special shoutout to Cathy, our resident photographer, for some of these great shots!]
Silver : Andrew [50, 100 & 200 Back - Scottish record ], Joe [50 Back & 100 Free], Ewan [400 Free], Christine [200 Fly], Reece B [1500 Free], Men's 4 x 50 Free Relay [Joe, Andrew, Reece M, Ewan], Men's 4 x 100 Medley Relay [Andrew, Reece M, Joe, Ewan]
Bronze : Joe [50 & 100 Fly], Andrew [100 Free], Women's 4 x 100 Medley Relay [Hanna, Fed, Christine, Cathy], Mixed 4 x 100 Free Relay [Andrew, Fed, Cathy, Joe]
Nationals Tune-Up at the NUEL Gala [LAC, 12-13 October 2024]
Two weeks before Nationals, a small group of the Masters squad crashed the NUEL [not Masters] gala to get a few races in amongst the younger squads. Good luck in Sheffield in two weeks time!
The 2024-2025 Season has Officially Started: Berks & South Bucks County Masters, Swim Serpentine, Dock2Dock and Barnet Copthall Sprint Meet
The 2024-2025 swim season has well and truly started, with a very busy first two weekends in September! Sunday 8th September saw a team of 6 members of the squad head over to the Berks & South Bucks County Masters competition in Maidenhead. Despite just starting up training again after the club's annual two week summer shutdown, loads of PB's and hardware were won: Beth [GOLDs in the 400 & 800 Free and a SILVER in the 200 Free], Marcus [SILVERs in the 200 IM & 200 Breaststroke and BRONZEs in the 100 Back & 100 Breaststroke, 4th in 200 Back], Alaine [GOLD in 800 Free, SILVER in 100 Back], Hanna [SILVER in 50 & 100 Back, BRONZE in 100 Free, 4th in 50s Free & Fly], Alex [5th in 50 Fly, 8th in 50 Free], Myriam [GOLD in 200 IM, BRONZE in 800 Free]
The following weekend saw lots of open water action on Saturday 14th September with Peter [6 mile] and Alberto [2 mile] swimming their way through the head-up breastrokers [Peter's description π] at Swim Serpentine and Megan [3km], James [10km] and Ilya [15km] competing at the Dock2Dock
The season opener weekend finished off back in the pool where Cathy & Ewan made their NUEL debuts, alongside Henry, at the Barnet Copthall Sprint Meet, coming away with a total of 5 GOLDs [Cathy - 50 Fly & Free, Ewan - 200 & 400 Free, Henry - 50 Fly]
What a great start to the season . . . lots more events coming up, so watch this space!
Summer 2024 Round-Up: NUEL Open Meet, Barnet Copthall Distance Meet, Open Water National Championships, London T100 Triathlon [& other open water events] . . . and The Olympics!
NUEL Open Meet: July 6th/7th weekend once again saw a group of the Masters squad competing alongside the age-groupers of the club in the 17-99 year old category at the NUEL Open Meet πͺ Well done to Andrew [50 Fly BRONZE, 50 Free 4th, 50 Back GOLD], Joe [50 Fly SILVER], Christine [200 Fly BRONZE], Marcus [200 Breast SILVER, 200 Back BRONZE, plus 50 & 200 Free and 100 Breast], Will [50 Breast BRONZE], Yigit [100 Free] π
Barnet Copthall Distance Meet: also on July 6th/7th weekend, Andy Kemp made his NUEL Masters swimming debut at the Barnet Distance meet, earning a SILVER medal in the 100 Free in the process.
Swim England Open Water Masters National Championships: on July 28th, Alaine and Rebekka represented NUEL at the Open Water National Championships at Rother Valley Country Park and walked away with handful of hardware . . . competing in 3 races each [the 2K, 3K and 5K . . . an incredible 10K in total!], Rebekka earned a BRONZE for her 3K, and Alaine the 5K GOLD, 3K SILVER and 2K BRONZE π
Swim England Summer Nationals [NOT Masters]: Congrats to our very own Andrew Sawkins who qualified for and competed in the English National [NOT Masters] Championships 29th July - 3rd August at Ponds Forge Sheffield. Andrew came 6th place in his 50 Back and 14th place in his 100 Back π
London T100 [& other impressive tri's & open water events]: Congrats to all our NUEL Masters representatives at the inaugural London T100 event [Lucy, Abi, Reece, Ilya, Jolyon & Myriam] during the July 27th/28th weekend . . . and special mentions to these other incredible accomplishments - Beth [Swansea Half Ironman], Ilya [3 Lakes - Coniston & Ullswater done, Windermere still to go!], Pauline [Oxford Lock to Lock 10K], Kiley [Royal Docks 5K], Peter & Alaine [Canary Wharf 2 Mile Swim], Myriam [Swim Alton 10K], Jolyon [Property Sprint Triathlon Dorney Lake] . . . if you're interested in attempting any of these events next summer, these are the people to chat to! Well done team!
NUEL at the Paris Olympics: How exciting to have the Olympics [almost!] right on our doorstep! Peter, James, Will and Eva [member of the Team GB workforce!] all say hello from Paris and the La Defence Arena π
Summer Social Backyard BBQ π
London Region Championships [22nd & 23rd June 2024, LAC]
London Regions, which hasn't taken place since Covid, took place in our home pool June 22nd & 23rd and the 18 NUEL swimmers in attendance came away with a huge haul of medals including 27 Golds, 9 Silvers and 7 Bronze!
Results:
Coach Chris - Silver [800 Free]
Peter - Gold [800 Free, 200 Free, 400 IM, 400 Free]
Will - Gold [100 Breast, 50 Breast]
Marcus - 6th 100 Breast, 4th 100 Back, 5th 50 Breast
Katie - Bronze [200 Back]
Alaine - Gold [200 Back, 100 Back], 4th [100 Free, 50 Back]
James P - Silver [200 IM], Bronze [100 Breast], Gold [50 Back, 50 Free]
Eva - Bronze [100 Back, 200 Free, 50 Back], 4th [100 Free, 50 Free]
Reece - Gold [100 Fly], Silver [50 Fly], 6th [50 Free]
Becca - Gold [100 Fly, 200 Fly], Silver [200 Free]
Christine - Gold [100 Fly, 200 Fly]
Chris K - Silver [50 Breast], Bronze [50 Free]
Matthew - Silver [200 Free], Gold [400 IM, 400 Free], Bronze [50 Free]
Yigit - Gold [200 Free], 5th [100 Free]
Chelsea - 4th [100 Free, 50 Free]
Federica - Silver [100 Free], Gold [50 Fly, 50 Free]
Abi - Silver [400 Free]
Medley Relays Golds - Women [Eva, Fed, Becca, Katie], Men [Reece, Will, Chris, Matt], Mixed 100+ [Eva, Will, Fed, Reece], Mixed 160+ [Alaine, Chris, Christine, Peter]
Free Relays Golds - Women [Chelsea, Alaine, Eva, Fed], Men [Peter, Reece, Matt, James], Mixed 100+ [Fed, Eva, Reece, Matt], Silver -
Mixed 160+ [Chelsea, Will, Peter, Alaine]
Middlesex County Championships [19th May 2024, Barnet Copthall]
Donna, Alaine, Beth, Chelsea, Christine & Reece represented NUEL & Essex County at the Middlesex County Championships this Sunday at Barnet Copthall. As NUEL is not a Middlesex club, we weren't eligible to collect medals for our swims, however we would have won the following hardware:
- Reece - 3 GOLDs [200IM, 50 Fly, 50 Back]
- Christine - 3 GOLDs [200IM, 50 Fly, 100 Fly]
- Alaine - 2 GOLDs [100 Breast, 50 Back], 2 SILVERs [100 Back, 50 Breast]
- Chelsea - 2 SILVERs [100 Free, 50 Free]
- Beth - 3 BRONZEs [50 Fly, 100 Free, 50 Free], SILVER [100 Back]
- Donna - 2 BRONZEs [50 Back, 100 Free], 2 4th's [50 Free, 50 Breast]
- Chris K - GOLD [50 Free], SILVER [50 Breast] [actual Gold & Silver as swimming for his other club Hackey which is a Middlesex club]
- Women's 120-159 Relay [Beth, Alaine, Christine Chelsea] - "BRONZE" [4 x 50 Medley], SILVER [4 x 50 Free]
NUEL Masters in the 2023 World & European Rankings
The 2023 World & European rankings have just been published - a massive well done for our individual and relay performances who ranked in the top 10 for last year π
| WORLD 2023 Rankings |
WORLD 2023 Rankings |
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| EUROPEAN 2023 Rankings |
EUROPEAN 2023 Rankings |
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Spring Social at Boom Battle Bar π₯³
British Masters Championships [19th-21st April 2024, Swansea]
A relatively small, yet impressive contingent of our NUEL Masters squad were in Swansea this past weekend for the British Masters Championships and came away with 14 pieces of hardware, loads of PBs and 100% top 10 finishes! Well done team!
- Ian - 2 GOLDs [400 Free PB, 200 Fly], 2 SILVERs [800 Free, 200 Free PB], 2 4ths [1500 Free, 100 Fly]
- Tori - SILVER [200 Breast], 3 BRONZEs [100 Breast, 200 & 400 IM]
- Ralph - 2 BRONZEs [200 & 400 Free], 4th [100 Free]
- Matt - GOLD [200 Fly PB], SILVER [200 Breast PB]
- Ilya - BRONZE [800 Free PB]
- Eva - 9th [100m Backstroke PB]
- Alaine 2 4ths [800 Free PB, 200 Breast PB], 5th [100 Breast], 7th [50 Breast]
- Relays - SILVER [800m Mixed Free Relay 160-199 - Ralph, Alaine, Tori, Ian], 8th [400m Mixed Medley Relay 120-159 - Eva, Tori, Matt, Ilya]
Essex County Masters Championships [2nd March 2024, Basildon Sporting Village]
Despite part of the squad still being out in Doha, the remaining members of the NUEL Masters squad were out in full force at the Essex County Masters Championships. Impressively, even with the Doha absences, the team managed to hold on to our 4th place team standing which we achieved last year! Lots of great swims and hardware won [see below] and a very special CONGRATS to members of the squad who were competing for the first time [or the first time in a loooooong time] :)
Results:
Building on the success from last year's World Championships in Japan, 9 members of the NUEL Masters squad [11 if you include Kyla and Joe - our adopted teammates] headed to Doha to see how we would fare on the world stage. Not only did we put in some fantastic performances at the world class venues - 21 top 10 finishes including a BRONZE medal winning performance from Federica in her 50 Fly . . . we managed to have just as much fun outside of the pool exploring all that Doha has to offer :) The competition, which sees thousands of masters athletes from all over the world gather to compete in all of the aquatic disciplines [swimming, open water, waterpolo, diving, artistic swimming] will be held in Singapore in August 2025 - come join us!
Results:
South East Regions Long Course Championships to start off 2024 [20th & 21st January 2024, K2 Crawley]
A great start to 2024 racing this weekend at the K2 Centre in Crawley for the South East Region Long Course Championships. Congrats to the team who came away with the following pieces of hardware:
December 2023 Round-Up: NUEL Open Meet, Scottish Nationals, HO-HO-HOliday celebrations, End-of-Year Awards . . . and Good-bye to Coach Ismail
NUEL Open Meet: December 2nd/3rd weekend once again saw a group of the Masters squad competing alongside the age-groupers of the club at the NUEL Open Meet and demonstrating that "age is just a number." Competing in the 17-99 year old category, we came away with the following results:
Kim - 200 IM 4th, 400 Free 6th, 200 Breast GOLD, 100 Breast BRONZE
Federica - 100 Free SILVER, 200 Free SILVER
Christine - 200 Fly SILVER, 100 Fly SILVER
Abigail - 400 Free 5th, 100 Fly 5th, 400 IM 4th, 100 Breast SILVER
Marcus - 50 Free 7th, 100 Free 4th, 50 Breast 6th, 50 Back 4th, 100 IM 4th
Andrew - 100 Free GOLD
Matthew - 100 Free BRONZE, 50 Breast GOLD
Christophe - 200 Fly GOLD, 100 Fly 6th, 100 IM BRONZE
Alaine - 200 Back GOLD
HO-HO-HOliday Celebrations & End-of-Year Awards: On Sunday 10th December, we held our 3rd annual holiday celebration meal at Zizzi's. This year, Coach Ismail was in attendance and presented the following awards to recognise some of our impressive aquatic achievements this past year:
Goodbye to Coach Ismail : We've been so lucky this past year to have had Coach Ismail overseeing our sessions and are so sad that he is leaving us at the end of December. He's been such a positive presence on poolside and although we will miss him very much, we wish him the very best as he starts his new career. [And hope that he will join us for a session or two once in a while :)]
2 British records, 3 Scottish records, 1 Zambian record, countless PBs = a successful weekend at the Swim England National Championships [27-29 October 2023, Ponds Forge Sheffield]
Big congratulations to the 11 members of the NUEL Masters squad who headed to Ponds Forge for the Short Course Swim England National Championships this past weekend. As well as the two British, three Scottish and 1 Zambian records that were broken, the team also brought home 15 medals, achieved numerous top 10 finishes and countless PBs, and were the 24th ranked club overall out of the 286 clubs represented! Please speak to any of us below if you've not competed [at all or for a while] and you would like to join us at the next gala - the more the merrier :)
Individual and Relay results:
Alaine - 1500 Free 4th, 100 Breaststroke 9th, 100 Backstroke 7th, 800 Free 7th, 50 Backstroke 11th
Reece - 50 Fly 21st, 100 Free 30th, 50 Breaststroke 26th, 100 Fly 15th, 100 IM 16th
Ian - 50 Fly 21st, 200 Fly 4th, 800 Free SILVER, 200 Free BRONZE, 400 Free BRONZE
Federica - 50 Fly 9th, 50 Free 11th, 100 Free 23rd, 100 IM 9th
Eva - 50 Fly 24th, 100 Backstroke 18th, 50 Free 32nd, 100 Free 42nd, 50 Breaststroke 13th, 100 IM 15th, 50 Backstroke 16th
Christine - 50 Fly 12th, 200 Fly 6th, 100 Fly 5th
Matt - 100 Breaststroke 9th, 200 Breaststroke 4th, 800 Free 6th [Zambian record]
Ralph - 50 Free 6th, 100 Free 6th, 200 Free SILVER
Katie - 100 Back 18th, 50 Free 27th, 100 Free 24th
Andrew - 4 SILVERs: 200 Back [Scottish record], 100 Back [Scottish record], 50 Back [Scottish record], 200 Free
NUEL at the London Film Festival [10th October 2023]
Trading in our caps and goggles for an evening of red carpet fun, a few of the Masters squad attended the London Film Festival screening of the film Nyad! The film documents the incredible accomplishment of Diana Nyad, a decorated marathon swimmer who, at the age of 64 and on her 5th attempt, completed the 103 mile swim between Cuba and Florida in the shark and jellyfish infested waters. The inspirational film, which stars Annette Bening as Diana Nyad and Jodie Foster as her coach, is out on Netflix from November.
NUEL Early County Qualifier [7th & 8th October 2023, LAC]
Competing in the 17 & over category at our home [NOT MASTERS] gala, the NUEL Masters squad were able to show the "little kids" that age is just a number . . . ! Congrats on the following results:
Golds - Will [100 br], Andrew [200 bk - unofficial Scottish record!, 100 fr, 400 fr, 50 bk], Matt [200 IM & 200 br], Alaine [200 br], Federica [50 fly & 50 fr]
Silvers - Christoph [200 & 400 IM], Reece [200 fly], Marcus [100 IM]
Bronze - Federica [100 IM & 100 fr], Marcus [50 br]
4th places - Matt [400 fr], Christoph [200 fly], Alaine [200 bk]
Start of the 2023-2024 season - Barnet Copthall Sprint Meet [17th September 2023] & South East Regions [30th September 2023]
The 2023-24 season has started . . . first up was the Barnet Copthall Sprint meet which saw great results for Ralph [3 Golds - 50, 200, 400 free], Donna [Silver - 400 free, 5th - 50 free] and Alaine [Silver - 100 back, 200 free, Bronze - 50 back, 4th - 100 breast]! This was followed, two weeks later, with Ralph and Alaine competing again, this time at the South East Region Short Course Championships in which Ralph broke the SE Region records in the 50, 100 & 400 freestyle events for the 60-64 age group! He picked up another Gold medal for his 200 freestyle, and Alaine also came away with a Silver for her 50 back and Bronze medals for her 100 back and 400 free. Great job guys!
World Aquatics Masters Championships [2nd-11th August 2023, Japan]
We are extremely proud of our small but mighty NUEL contingent who competed at the World Aquatics Masters Championships this August. The event saw thousands of masters athletes competing in all of the aquatic disciplines [swimming, open water, diving, artistic swimming and waterpolo] over the 9 days of competition throughout the Island of Kyushu, Japan in the cities of Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima.
Leading the NUEL charge was Peter Dixon in the 55-59 year old age group who came away with the following hardware and records:
Gold - 400 Free [British & European record] - WORLD CHAMPION!
Silver - 400 IM
Bronze - 800 Free [British record . . . and European record for about 10 minutes until it was broken in the following heat] and the 3km Open Water.
Also competing in Japan, in her very first World Championships, was Federica Noera in the 25-29 year old age group. Federica managed to break the top 25 in all of her events - 50 Free [23rd], 50 Fly [24th] and 100 Free [20th]
Well done Peter and Federica! We're hoping that there will be more of us to join you at the next World Championships which will be in Qatar in February 2024.
Masters success at English Nationals [4th August, Sheffield]
Congrats to Andrew Sawkins, our backstroke superstar, who came 4th place at the English National Championships [NOT Masters!] - we're so proud of you!
Summer 2023 round-up
Well done to all the NUEL Masters swimmers who competed in [and completed!] some impressive events this summer. If you're interested in attempting one of these next summer, you know who to get in touch with.
Leading the way, in terms of distance covered, was Alaine who completed Coniston [5.25 miles in 2:33.54], Ullswater [7.5 miles in 4:14.11] and has the 11 mile Windermere swim coming up soon - Good luck Alaine! We also had Beth competing in the 2km open water swim as part of the Mumbles Centurion in Wales, placing 21st overall out of 260 swimmers [and 5th female!], Ash completing an Ironman Triathlon [3.8km open water swim followed by 180km cycle and finished with a marathon!], Dian completing a 2km open water swim, finishing 17th out of 44 swimmers, in his home country of Bulgaria. Finally, Holly, Chelsea, Leo, Abigail, Ash, and Ilya all took part in this year's London Triathlon - Way to go, Team!
London Region Open Water Championships [2nd July 2023, Merchant Taylor's School - Watford]
A strong showing from NUEL Masters at the London Region Open Water Championships this past weekend - GOLD's in their respective age groups for Tori [5km], Alaine [5km], Peter [5km], Ralph [5km], Marcus [2km], Donna [1km] and 2nd place showing for Ilya [5km], 3rd place for Megan [5km] and 4th place for Rebecca [5km].
GLL Awards Evening [13th June 2023, Timber Lodge - QEOP]
Congratulations to Christine, Tori, Katie, Ralph, Margarita [National Performance Squad], Andrew, Peter [awarded via Tower Hamlets] and Susie [our Legacy Ambassador] who, along with other National-ranked athletes using the sporting facilities based in and around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, received their GLL Foundation Awards.
British Masters Championships [2nd - 4th June 2023, Ponds Forge Sheffield]
10 swimmers . . . 3 British records . . . 3 Scottish records . . . 22 medals . . . countless Top 10 finishes . . . 17th club overall . . . !
Standout performances from Peter [breaking British records in the 400IM, 800 and 1500 Freestyles] and Andrew [breaking Scottish records in all three backstroke events] !!!
Already looking forward to the English Championships which will be held in Sheffield 27-29th October 2023 . . . please speak to any of us below if you've not competed (at all or for a while) and you would like to join us :)
Individual and relay results:
Ian - 800 Free (4th), 200 Free (BRONZE), 200 Fly (SILVER), 1500 Free (BRONZE)
Peter - GOLDs in 800 Free [GB Record], 400 IM [GB Record], 200 Free, 400 Free, 1500 Free [GB Record]
Andrew - 100 Back (SILVER - Scottish Record), 50 Back (GOLD - Scottish Record), 200 Back (4th - Scottish Record), 100 Free (SILVER)
Katie - 100 Back (5th), 200 Free (12th), 50 Back (9th), 100 Free (16th)
Reece - 50 Breast (12th), 100 Fly (4th . . . 0.02 from Bronze), 50 Free (8th), 50 Fly (9th)
Ralph - 200 Free (SILVER), 400 Free (SILVER), 50 Free (6th), 100 Free (BRONZE)
Christine - 100 Fly (5th), 200 Fly (SILVER), 50 Fly (6th)
Henry - 50 Back (8th)
Tori - 100 Breast (BRONZE), 200 IM (4th), 200 Breast (SILVER)
Federica - 50 Free (5th), 50 Fly (6th), 100 Free (8th)
Chris (including him even though he entered with Otter 
) - 400 Free (SILVER), 800 Free (SILVER)
160+ Men's Relay [Peter, Ian, Ralph, Andrew - 4x200FR (SILVER), 4x100FR (SILVER)
100+ Mixed Relay [Federica, Katie, Reece, Andrew] - 4x50FR (4th), 4x100FR (4th), 4x50MR (BRONZE)
