THE Borders Elite Swim Team (BEST) performance squad was represented by three of its top performers at the British Gas International Meet.
Kirsty Armstrong, Ryan Brown and Lucy Hope –all from Kelso ASC – performed admirably, breaking two Scottish age group and nine district records between them, at the meet held in Leeds from March 7 to 10.
Aiming for selection to the GB team for the European Junior Championships, 16-year-old Lucy Hope gave selectors something to think about with a number of fine performances.
She was third in the junior final of the 200m backstroke, with Scottish national and district age group records. She also placed third in the junior 50m backstroke in district age group, junior and senior record time.
The Kelso ASC member took third yet again in the junior 100m freestyle, claiming another district age group record before completing her set of four third placings with a dynamic performance in the junior 50m freestyle. With a strong case for selection, Hope waits in anticipation for the announcement of the team, to be made at the end of April.
Team-mate Kirsty Armstrong, also added her name to the record books breaking the 30-second barrier for the first time in the 50m butterfly, and setting new Scottish national and district marks in the process. The 13-year-old made the junior (16 & under) final of the 100m butterfly and, with a fine performance, missed her own Scottish age group record by one hundredth of a second. Armstrong went on to perform solidly in a range of other events.
Ryan Brown performed strongly, despite falling ill during the course of the competition. At just 15, he made the boys’ junior final (18 & under) of the 200m butterfly, managing to crack the 2 minute 10 second mark for the first time. Similarly, Brown managed to break 59 seconds for the first time in the 100m butterfly.
Head coach of BEST, Alex Jordan, told TheSouthern: “I’m very proud of the way Kirsty, Ryan and Lucy performed at this competition.
“They all faced adversity at some point during the meet then came back strongly. Lucy, in particular, pulled out a massive performance under very difficult circumstances, which may have just been enough for her to make her first GB team.”