Edinburgh University's Iain Macmillan secured an excellent bronze medal in the 200m butterfly final with a time of 1:59.41.  Joe Roebuck, looking to seal his ticket to Rome, took the title in 1:58.25, ahead of Adam Mallet (Lincoln Vulcans) who fought hard for second in 1:59.38.

After the race Macmillan said,

"This was not about qualifying for Rome, but I am a little disappointed with my time.  I always look to improve on my heat time.

"On day 2 of the Championships, I can say it has so far been a good meet for me with a few personal bests.  The Edinburgh University Squad is performing well which is excellent considering the current set up is less than a year old.

"Looking ahead, I have achieved the qualification time for the Commonwealth Games, so I know, for the Trials next year it is up to me, and I look to be part of that squad."

Kris Gilchrist has now secured his place in two events at the FINA World Championships in Rome later this summer following the conclusion of the 100m breaststroke, one of several outstanding races on Day 3 of The British Gas Scottish National Championships at Tollcross Park Leisure Centre in Glasgow.

Following the Trials in Sheffield in March, Gilchrist held the second place spot for the event, and went into the final hoping that his time of 1:00.98 would not be beaten by another athlete. 

For selection to the World Championships athletes either had to win at the British Gas Championships, which took place in Sheffield in March, or achieve the second fastest time over the two events. 

Gilchrist (Edinburgh University) was in fourth place at the half way mark and had to pull on all his strength and experience in the last 50m to challenge for the title.  The result went down to the touch and in the end it was University of Baths' Darren Mew who took gold, however, his time of 1:01.37 was slower than that of Gilchrist's in March securing Gilchrist his selection for the event in Rome.

Gilchrist won silver in 1:01.51 and Daniel Sliwinski of Gallica won bronze in 1:01.96.

After the race Gilchrist was delighted with the outcome:

"I arrived here from my training base in Paris on Wednesday and come to the meet un-rested. 

I knew I had already qualified for the 200m breaststroke for Rome and I had the second place spot for the 100m so talked things through with my coach and decided to swim through.

"I would have liked to have gone a bit faster but I have not started my taper so would expect to go quicker in Rome.  The Worlds start towards the end of next month so I will have another week of solid training and then start resting."

Asked of his expectations for Rome, Gilchrist continued,

"It is difficult to determine the outcome of the race before you get to the event.  For most major meets, the 100m breaststroke is swum a few before the 200m breaststroke.  The 100m is a bonus event for me but it will help me see if I have timed my taper well and will give me an indication of how I and the other athletes are performing before my main event, the 200m."

When asked about what suit he will be wearing in Rome, Gilchrist would only say,

"I have decided the manufacturer but not the model of suit.  The whole debate surrounding suits is not an easy one; it has got to the stage that if anyone swims well and breaks a record the first question asked is often about the suit and not the swimmer."

Lewis Smith (Warrender Baths Club/Stirling ITC) will have to wait another day to see if he will make the British Gas squad for Rome following a thrilling 200m Individual Medley final.

Smith was fastest going into the final and held the second place spot for the event following a great swim in Sheffield in March.  He knew he would have to be at his very best to keep that spot, as he lined up alongside Liam Tancock and in-form Joe Roebuck (both Loughborough University).

At the half way mark, Smith was down two seconds from the leaders, but swam a strong breaststroke leg to make the final 50m a real thriller. 

The capacity crowd almost raised the room cheering Smith on as he came shoulder to shoulder with Roebuck in the last 20m.  There was nothing between the two athletes and the crowd held their breath as the scoreboard confirmed the result.

It was Roebuck who took the title on the touch with a time of 2:00.92, 0.13s faster than Smith's time from Sheffield.  Smith had to settle for silver in 2:00.93, while Liam Tancock won bronze in 2:01.34.

Following the race, Smith said,

"That was a great race for me, although I am obviously disappointed that I did not secure my place on the squad to Rome with the result.

"My main event is the 400m IM, which is tomorrow so tonight's race has been good practice and I am feeling really upbeat about tomorrow."

Asked what his training preparations have been coming into the event, Smith continued,

"I am more of a distance swimmer rather than a sprint swimmer.  Guys like Liam (Tancock) and Joe (Roebuck) have a lot of natural speed, but I really have to work at it.  With that in mind I have been doing lots of 50m sets, building up my speed, and this is paying off.

"I am training at the Stirling ITC and the facilities are great; I believe it is making a real difference swimming long course all the time and I am very much enjoying that opportunity."

Hannah Miley (Garioch) qualified for her fourth event at the FINA World Championships, holding onto her second place spot for the 200m butterfly.

Although she was beaten in the final, Swansea Performance Centre's Jemma Lowe's winning time of 2:10.50 was over two seconds slower than the time set by Miley back in March.  Miley picked up the silver medal in 2:10.83 and Jessica Dickons (Edinburgh University) claimed the bronze medal in 2:10.96.

Miley also had to settle for silver in a very close 400m freestyle final.  Having lost her lead at the 350m mark, Miley fought back but was just edged out by Sasha Matthews of Nova Centurion who touched home in 4:11.65.  Miley's silver came in 4:11.72, with Ann Morris of Nova Centurion winning bronze in 4:13.95.

In the final event of the evening, Olympic Medallist, David Davies broke the British Record for the 800m freestyle (7:50.49), while Daniel Fogg broke the English Record for the same event (8:00.18).

*Taken from Scottish Swimming*

Despite playing below their typical level and being a bit wowed to play in a regulation 30M x 22 M pool, the men's team stays very competitive the whole way.   

Taken from the EUSU website by Craig Meek.   Note: it is not actually Antonio's last year...he just seems that old.    Also, the Manchester score was 4-13.  

Last weekend, EUSWPC rounded off a highly successful season with one of their best ever performances at the BUCS team finals. The swimmers came out on top, powering their way to snatch silver, while the men’s water polo team fought hard but unluckily ended up just outside a medal position in 4th place.

 The polo players kicked off the final stage of their long campaign against Bristol, narrowly going down 4-6 in a gritty match. The huge pool, measuring 30mx25m, was something that many of the players had to adapt to, as it demanded better awareness, more accurate passing, and of course better fitness. Edinburgh started well, diligently moving to 4-2 up at one stage. However, the sheer size of the pool meant that the offense were not pushing up towards the goal, which in turn meant that many of the attacking plays simply fizzled away and came to nothing. Despite heroic goalkeeping from Dave Armstrong, Bristol battled back, and after a few lucky refereeing decisions eventually won the match.  

The team got over the disappointment of this loss quickly, and turned out the next day ready to face favourites Manchester, who had demolished Cardiff 20-4 in their first match. Despite another strong start, the Edinburgh attacking plays again buckled, giving Manchester a number of counter-attacking advantages, which they almost always converted. Despite losing 12-4, the Edinburgh defence had done a good job, limiting the damage and putting them in a favourable position if they could beat Cardiff in their final match. 

Gold was now out of the question, but a win against their arch-rivals could still have landed Edinburgh silver. In a thrilling match, due to be featured on Channel 4’s ‘4Sport: Destination 2012’ series, there was some brilliant water polo played. Edinburgh found themselves 3-0 down after five minutes; after taking a timeout to rally, the offensive plays finally came together and they broke back into the game to bring it all square by half time. From then there was nothing more than a goal between the two teams for the rest of the match. Cardiff would pull one ahead with an immediate Edinburgh reply, and vice versa. Antonio Malfense Fierro scored twice in his last game for the team, converting from some fierce attacking teamwork. In an agonisingly close finish, captain James Scobie just missed a scoring chance in the last second of the game, a chance which would have guaranteed Edinburgh a medal had it gone in. In the end, the score finished 9-9, which was unfortunately not enough. Regardless, the polo players have again cemented their position as one of the top British water polo universities, this being their second time in the finals in three years.

 From there it was over to the swimmers, who had high expectations after narrowly missing out on a medal last year. Points were awarded to each team depending on where they finished in a given race, and predictably the highest tallies bagged the medals. Edinburgh hit the ground running, immediately establishing their presence as serious contenders. With the points being updated after every race, the team quickly swam into 2nd place and opened up a gap from Manchester in 3rd. Not to settle for silver, the race was on for gold against the swimming powerhouse of Loughborough. Judi Kilgallon brought the challenge to their doorstep with a superb 200m freestyle win in 2.04.10, as she came from behind to claw the victory away from Edinburgh’s rivals. Mark Jaggs put his performance squad training to excellent use as he swept to victory in the 50 and 100m butterfly. Ross Johnston, another performance swimmer who had also played in all the water polo beforehand, dug deep to put solid points on the board in the individual medley and breaststroke events. By the middle of the afternoon, it was clear that the swimmers would gain a medal, albeit silver after Loughborough pulled too far ahead. Even though the job was done, the team revelled in the atmosphere and kept the foot on the gas, producing fast and impressive swimming right up until the last race. It topped off a golden year for the club, with club president Chris Henning particularly pleased: “I am delighted at all the effort put in by everybody this weekend. It is a pity that the polo players just missed out on a medal, but their 4th placing combined with the swimmers’ 2nd is still an excellent result for the club. This is something we can only aim to build on next year”. 

 Members of the swimming squad continued to compete after the BUCS finals, with several of them taking part in the British trials for this year’s World Championships in Rome.

(Craig Meek, 19/03/2009)