​Five RGS swimmers power through to regional championships

​Five RGS swimmers power through to regional championships

A GROUP of talented RGS swimmers are celebrating securing places at major regional championships.

Will Edmondson, Sebastian Robson, Keira Spence and siblings Grace and Jonathan Darling are all members of Harrogate District Swim Club’s regional performance squad.

Their qualification, which reflects both dedication and consistent performance in the pool, will see them compete against the best in the region at the North-East Regional Swimming Championships.

All five swimmers are now juggling their studies with training for the prestigious event, set to take place across April and May.

Held in Leeds and Sunderland, the championships bring together some of the region’s most promising young swimmers.

Will, 16, from Bishop Monkton, Sebastian, 14, a termly boarder from Saudi Arabia, Keira, 11, and siblings Grace,14, and Jonathan,12, Darling, all from Ripon, commit to a regular intensive training schedule of up to seven sessions a week, sometimes lasting up to two hours.

Will, who has followed his father and older siblings into the world of high-level competitive swimming and has been ranked in the top 20 in the country, has ambitions to compete in the Olympics one day.

He also enjoys football, rugby and cricket and, despite suffering a number of injuries, has been placed third and fourth in Yorkshire County swimming finals.

Sebastian, who began competitive swimming when he was 11 years old, has ambitions to get to the nationals this year.

A former member of the Adam Peaty Swim Academy, the aspiring architect, who also enjoys rugby and football, said: "I really enjoy swimming and enjoy the competitive side of the sport. My biggest challenge is balancing my swimming and schoolwork."

Another Olympic hopeful, Keira, who began competing at nine years old, combines her 12-hours a week swimming training with a busy school life.

One of the youngest qualifiers, she was inspired to take up the sport when she watched older swimmers train and was thrilled to meet Harrogate's Gabe Shepherd, who won gold at world championships, recently.

Grace, who was terrified of the water when she first started swimming aged four, has qualified for Yorkshire multiple times.

Fluent in Chinese, she achieved a GCSE in the language last summer and balances her studies with morning and evening swimming lessons, alongside piano practice.

Her brother Jonathan, who is also studying Chinese, gets up at 4.15am on Saturday mornings to attend his swimming training in Harrogate, followed by Chinese lessons in Leeds in the afternoon.

He also juggles his sport with piano and violin lessons, having gained grade 8 and 2 in the instruments.

The championships will be streamed live via YouTube, allowing supporters to follow the action as it unfolds.