Camden Swiss Cottage swimmers impressed in the National Arena Junior League grand finals

SPEEDY swimmers from one of the biggest and most successful swimming clubs in central London are busy sharpening their strokes ahead of a busy November schedule.

Squads representing Camden Swiss Cottage Swimming Club will face a series of challenging meets next month, starting with the Swim England London Winter Championships in Lewisham.

Youngsters will go into the showpiece brimming with confidence after helping the club seal second place at the grand finals of the 2022 National Arena Junior League, which were held recently at the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry.

Featuring 33 races for swimmers aged between nine and 12 years old, Camden Swiss Cottage amassed 179 points in the competition to finish closely behind Guildford City Swim Club, who were crowned champions with 192 points. Chelsea & Westminster were third with 159 points.

Camden Swiss Cottage’s lead junior performance coach and team manager, Tom Watson, said he was “extremely proud” of every member of his squad.

He added: “It was a fantastic team performance in what was an incredibly closely fought competition with tons of personal best times and exciting relay swims. It was also really pleasing to see the consistency and progression of the club building on our fourth-place finish from last year.”

Not only did Camden Swiss Cottage take the runners-up spot overall, but they also won the relay challenge event – a mixed 6x50m freestyle relay featuring one boy and one girl from each of the three age groups.

The club topped the podium after clocking a time of 3 minutes, 13.37 seconds, finishing ahead of Chelsea & Westminster (3:16.70) who were second, and Wycombe District (3:19.81) in third.

There was also individual success for Martin Vermaat, who was voted the best male swimmer in the 12-year-old category.