Thirty swimmers from Stevenage qualified for the Herts ASA county swimming championships this year. This was the largest number of swimmers ever taken by the club to the annual event which was held over three weekends at the Venue Pool in Borehamwood. The

Thirty swimmers from Stevenage qualified for the Herts ASA county swimming championships this year.

This was the largest number of swimmers ever taken by the club to the annual event which was held over three weekends at the Venue Pool in Borehamwood.

There were a number of outstanding results for the club's swimmers.

For the second consecutive year, Christie Bays became county champion in the 10-year-old girls' category.

The club also had a trio of runners-up in the nine, 10 and 11-year-old boys' categories.

In the nine-year-old competition, Martyn Walton finished in second - a remarkable feat considering that this was his first appearance at the county championships.

Liam Doonan also finished in second in the 10-year-old category, and Thomas Worbey finished second in the 11-year-old group, losing out on top spot by a slim five-point margin behind the winning score of 1,521 points!

Jake Robinson came third in the 12-year-old boys' age group, Shaun Dempsey finished fourth in the 14-year-old boys' category and Joseph Mileusnic was fifth in the 10-year-old boys' group.

In the nine-year-old girls' category, Danielle Murphy and Jessica Jackson showed great promise for the future by finishing in fifth and sixth places respectively. Carina Bays finished in sixth place in the 12-year-old girls' age group.

Stevenage assistant coach Mark Dempsey, said: "It is a huge achievement for any swimmer to reach this competition, let alone win medals at it.

"At the county championships, you are up against the very best in Hertfordshire and it can be a tough arena at times."

Dempsey continued: "What pleases me most of all is that almost all of our 30 swimmers claimed one or more personal best times in the course of their championships.

"This highlights the desire our swimmers have to perform and achieve. They have all worked hard to get here and then harder still at the event."

Several of the club's swimmers also produced fast enough times during the competition to qualify for the ASA Eastern Region Championships in Norwich later this year.

The club's youngest swimmers will now turn their attention to the first round of the Herts Peanuts League which begins on Saturday, May 12.

# The overall results and positions for Stevenage's swimmers in various age categories over the three weeks were:

Martyn Walton - (second place) won three golds, four silvers and a bronze.

Liam Doonan - (second place), won six golds, a silver and a bronze.

Joseph Mileusnic - (fifth place) won a gold and a silver.

David Spicer - (14th place) won a bronze medal.

Thomas Worbey - (second place) won two golds, a silver and three bronzes.

Jack Jarrett (17th place), Luke Ames (18th place) and Matthew Pallett (20th place).

Jake Robinson - (third place) won five silvers and four bronzes.

Danny Buckley - (eighth place) won a gold and silver.

Joe Lacey (23rd place).

Jack Steel (16th place) and Matthew Costello (23rd place).

Shaun Dempsey - (fourth place) won three golds.

Joseph Mahon (15th place).

Ross Gillon won a gold, a silver and a bronze.

Tony Keast - fourth and eighth.

Danielle Murphy - (fifth place) won a gold and a silver.

Jessica Jackson (sixth place).

Christie Bays (first place) - six golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

Molly Ewins - (10th place) won two bronzes.

Georgia Hazell (14th place).

Carina Bays - (sixth place) won a gold, a silver and a bronze.

Emma Stewart - (10th place) won a silver and a bronze.

Rhiannon Gillon (14th place), Abby Livingston (19th place), Grace Coventry (21st place) and Tillie Farman (28th place).

Katie Heasman and Isobel Dunnicliffe both achieved personal bests.