Oxford’s swimmers make bright start on the road to Varsity
The Oxford University Swimming team began their season with a slew of victories in the third Intervarsity competition at Iffley Road. Oxford’s swimmers were given a stern test, with teams from London, Birmingham and Brookes, amongst others, taking part. Fresher Carlos Sajao was the star of the show for the men, collecting three victories in the 200m individual medley, 50m breaststroke and 100m breastroke.
GB pentathlete Richard Smith turned in three gutsy performances to emerge unbeaten in frontcrawl events, while Lennard Lee recorded a victory. Also in fine fettle were Sean Junior, who swam a brilliant leg in the relay, and Chip Fisher who recorded good times despite a two year absence. Last year the girls’ team came to winning Varsity. Led by Harriet Pierce, the team has acquired some very fast and fit freshers, which bodes well for the season ahead.
Louisa Jerkiwic made her debut, as did Laura Spencer. Lorna Welling, overcame illness to set good times in the 50m breaststroke, winning the event at a canter. Anne O’Donell, the latest star swimmer from stateside, took another gold medal. In spite of these numerous successes, Oxford were pipped to the overall team trophy by Birmingham. However, the team looks strong, and should make life difficult for Cambridge at Varsity.
2nd Nov 2006