Leamington quartet qualify for national championships

A major change to British swimming in 2015 has seen the introduction of a qualifying window and the elimination of qualifying times for the National Championships, forcing swimmers to peak within a few weeks and causing a nailbiting wait to see if swimmers made the ranking.

An outstanding display of racing within this period from 18-year-old Ellen Stone in the 50m and 200m breaststroke events and Lauren Cox, 14, in the 50m backstroke saw the pair finish in the top 24 in their events for the whole of Britain.

This catapulted the duo into the rarefied air of the country’s elite swimmers and will see them compete in the British Summer Nationals held in Sheffield next month.

Just being squeezed outside the top placing for the British Championships, Stone will compete in the 100m breaststroke and Cox in the 50m freestyle at the English Nationals in August.

Kathryn Lythgo, 16, swimming in the Scottish Nationals, will be kept busy in Glasgow as she participates in the 400m and 800m freestyle and the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke events, while Welsh youngster Sarah Chapman, 16, will compete in the 400m individual medley in Swansea.