BUCS Short Course 2024
The Oxford University Swimming Club made waves this weekend at the BUCS Short Course Swimming Championships in Sheffield, showcasing exceptional talent and determination in one of the most competitive events of the season. Held at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, the event drew the finest university swimmers from across the UK, setting the stage for three days of thrilling races and record-breaking performances.
The first swimmers left Oxford on Thursday evening, split between an MPV and car. Absolute tunes were belting in the MPV; highlights including a Jonathan^2 duet of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Ioan bopping in the back seat to 1D’s “Steal Your Girl”, and Max finding many keys in his rendition of “Defying Gravity”. Meanwhile, the car detoured via Nottingham Spoons for a curry that left Jackson needing his eyes dried and guts drained.
Racing began strongly on Friday morning with Sophie Lawrence and Jonathan Rutter pulling out Blues times in the 200m Free, with times of 2:09.46 and 1:49.61 respectively. Jonathan’s time was just short of an A-final qualification, but scored him a centre lane for the B-final. Women’s Captain Charlotte O’Leary followed up in the 100m Back with a 1:02.82, enough to secure her a place in the B-final (her first ever BUCS SC individual final!!). The rest of the morning saw many swimmers on the verge of PB’s or records:
- Ioan Cressey-Rodgers just 0.5 seconds off his 100m Fly PB with a 57.87
- Caterina Vanelli Coralli within a second of her 100 back PB, with 1:08.95
- Carrie Power one second off her PB in the 200m Free, with 2:33.30
- Chloe Brennan just 0.6 seconds off her PB in the 50m Breast with 36.65, and 1 second in the 200m Free with 2:16.55
Friday also saw many of our Freshers competing in their first BUCS events, racing fantastically given that many had time off before restarting swimming at uni. Grace Allen hit 1:16.55 in the 100 fly, Sophie Govan swam a 1:08.74 in the 100 back, Jonathan Dye and Elis Knowles hit 2:20.00 and 2:23.37 in the 200m IM respectively, and Tracey Liu swam 1:07.10 in the 100m backstroke. A special mention must be made of Kavita Sekhon who faced a very unlucky draw, with back-to-back events in the 50m Breast and 200m IM leaving her with about 30 seconds between races. She was still able to pull out a very impressive 33.22 in the 50 Breast (also a Blues time!).
As dusk settled, swimmers returned to the pool for the Friday Finals session. Rutter was up first in the 200m Freestyle, and as usual, he put on a resplendent display of racing. He finished in 1st place in the B-Final with a time of 1:48.79, sending the Oxford supporters into a frenzy on poolside. Charlotte was next up in the B-Final of the 100m Back, and encountering a little fatigue from her morning’s swim she finished in 10th place – still a tremendous achievement. The day was closed by the mixed medley relay of Charlotte O’Leary (Back), Jonathan Rutter (Breast), Jacob Hudson (Fly), and Molly Aspinall (Free), who took 8th in the B-final with a time of 1:49.24. Momentously, Charlotte kicked off the relay with a 28.51 backstroke split, setting a new Oxford club record!!
With Elis’s alarm clock fixed, the team woke on Saturday ready for another big day of racing. Max Anderson Loake and Joshua ‘TJ’ Robinson started things off with the 400IM, turning in perfect synchronicity at each wall (with the exception that TJ’s turns were legal and Max’s weren’t). Next up was the 100 freestyle. In the Women’s pool we had Carrie Power (1:08.61 – an official PB!), Chloe Brennan (1:03.47), Chloe Davis (1:01.84), Eleanor Browne (1:01.76), Caterina Vanelli Coralli (1:01.45), Molly Aspinall (58.95 – Blues time!), and Charlotte O’Leary with (58.59 – Blues time!). On the Open side it was Jack ‘The Weapon’ Chen (1:02.43 – a 4 second PB!!), Chris Carnegie (55.11), Ioan Cressey-Rodgers (54.80 – PB!), Samual Nicholls (54.64), Harry Manship (54.46), and Max Anderson Loake (53.61 – Blues time!).
The 2s symphony was out in full song; Vivienne Nguyen hit 31.42 in the 50m fly, Benham Cobb scored 2:30.60 in the 200 back, and Rory Bristoll took a 2 second PB AND a new Seconds Team Record in the 100m Breast with 1:10.54!! It was not a good day to be a Dolphins Record, with Elis also breaking the 200m IM record with 2:23.37!
In the 100 breast we also had Cole Mason, Jonathan Dye and Jake Hudson, who hit very impressive times of 1:08.22, 1:08.10, and 1:06.34 respectively. Next, the bravest members of OUSC jumped in the pool for an event that leaves most trembling in their fins: the 800m Free. Madelyn Letendre, Sophie Lawrence, and Joshua Robinson went 9:32.51, 9:46.67 and 8:49.48 respectively, with Josh securing his first official Blues time. Finally, it was time to Freeslay in the Freelay. The Women’s team of Chloe, Tracey, Sophie G and Ellie, and the Open team of Max, Sam, Harry and TJ both narrowly missed finals. Undeterred, the team of Sophie L, Charlotte, Molly and Caterina made it through to the B Final where they finished in 6th place with an incredible 1:47.98. Once again, Charlotte claimed an Oxford record in the first leg of the relay, with 11 dolphin kicks off each end snatching her a spectacular 26.26.
Saturday also presented time for lots of extra-curricular activities. The Sheffield Christmas markets were particularly enticing to Chris ‘Christmas’ Carnegie, although he sadly burnt his tongue on a Yorkshire Pudding wrap. We also had a team dinner at Noodle Doodle, followed by a pilgrimage to Sheffield’s temple of spiritual nirvana: Bierkeller Stein Haus. While the vibes were somewhat hampered by an unexpected brass band set, it was still an eventful night, and the team successfully protected Sheffield Uni GeogSoc from a creepy local while dancing on the tables to 9-to-5 by Dolly Parton. Rumours are that Vivienne brought fantastic vibes in the AirBnB, while Grace got her best sleep since being in the UK.
Finally, it was time for Sunday Funday. Up first was the 200 Fly – Max had the pool to himself and PB’d with 2:10.21, followed by Chris Carnegie (2:23.59), TJ (2:12.02), and Ioan (2:10.66). This was a followed up by a flurry of exciting racing: Madelyn substantially annihilated the Cambridge girl in her 400m free heat with 4:44.06, Tracey smashed back-to-back PBs in the 50 free and 50 back with 28.26 and 30.10 respectively, Carrie beat her 50 free PB by over a second with 31.38, Cole and Jake devoured the 200 Breast, and Ellie blitzed her PB in the 50 Free – breaking the 28 second barrier with a mighty 27.63. A particularly special mention must be made of Elis and Benham, who broke Seconds Team Records in the 200m Breast (2:37.25) and 100m IM (1:04.76) respectively!!
BUCS Sunday is always a big one for the Mackay-Champion/Rutter fan club, who get the joy of watching both grace the pool in the 200m Breaststroke. Mackay-Champion cruised into the B-final with an exemplary 2:16.98, where he finished in 10th place. In the A-final, class was once again in session as Jonathan took a spectacular 5th place with 2:12.06. On the Women’s side, Molly qualified for her first BUCS SC individual final in the 50 Free with her first sub-27 swim (a stonking 26.53), where she finished in 10th place in the B Final. Charlotte also qualified for the 50 Back B-final after blitzing the heat, where she finished in 5th place with a phenomenal 28.85.
Lastly it was the Medley Relays. In the Men’s C Final, the team of Jonathan, Toby, Jake and Harry finished in 3rd place with 1:44.70. Special mention must be made to Harry Manship, who was a huge asset across the weekend and made his first BUCS final after being promoted from the Dolphins last week. On the Women’s side, the B Medley of Tracey, Sophie G, Ellie and Chloe narrowly missed a final spot (shout out to Chloe for her SOTW-worthy 27 second split), while Charlotte, Kavita, Molly and Caterina made it into the B-final. They beat the club record and Cambridge, finishing in 4th place with a tremendous 1:56.89.
The full list of results can be found here.
A huge thank you to BUCS for a fantastic weekend, our captains and vices for getting us ready (particularly Molly on entries), the drivers, and our splendid secretary Caterina for planning all the accommodation and transport (complete with one of the most glorious spreadsheets the world has seen).
So long Sheffield, see you in February!