Dolphins collect medal haul (From Warrington Guardian)

Dolphins collect medal haul

11:10am Thursday 11th October 2012 in Sport

A TOTAL of 15 gold medals and three new championship records went to Warrington Dolphins swimmers at the annual Cheshire Masters Short Course championships in Macclesfield.

Judy Brown, Chris Rix and Russ Mason were the top performers in their respective age bands, with the evergreen Brown picking up five first-place finishes in the 45 to 49-year age group and with new records in 400m freestyle and 50m backstroke.

Debutant Rix won three of his four races in the 35 to 39-year band, setting a new record in the 100m individual medley and narrowly missing out on a fourth gold in the 50m butterfly to fellow Dolphin Graeme Atherton, who was back in the pool after more than ten years.

Mason signed off from the 45 to 49-year age group with four first places, including a rare victory in the 50m butterfly.

Christian Wade took the Dolphins gold tally to 14 with victory in the 35 to 39-years 100m breaststroke, while number 15 came by way of possibly the night’s biggest upset, when the men’s 150 to 199 medley relay team beat Masters giants Trafford Metro into second place.

Other swimmers contributing to the Dolphins’ success on the night were Sarah Beresford (bronze) and Nick Aspey (bronze) in the 30 to 34-year events and veterans Gerry Kelleher (50/54) and Rob Waters (55/59) with silver and bronze.