Men’s
If one word can be used to
sum up the performance of the University of Nottingham male swimming squad –
that word is unbeatable. With 12 events in total, and 12 victories, the
Nottingham Trent boys must be wondering why they bothered to turn up, or
rather, why they didn’t.
The first men’s race of the
competition was to be a clear sign of things to come. The 4x50 metres Men’s Medley
saw Nottingham University take first place, and Nottingham University B take
second! If ever there was an indication of a mismatch, this was it. Trent were
left trailing in Nottingham’s wake, having to settle for an internal battle
between themselves for 3rd place.
University of Nottingham’s
supremacy never faded, picking up first and second yet again in the next race,
the 100 metre Individual Medley, meaning that UoN had secured a 100% record in
their first two races. In the 100 metres Butterfly, the winning competitor swam
a storming race, securing a time of 56.98 seconds; and the 50 metres Freestyle
champion was timed in at an impressive 24.20 seconds. However Trent,
respectfully, managed both second and third place in the 50 metres Freestyle.
Before half-time, UoN had further triumphed in the 50 metres Backstroke and 100
metres Breastroke.
The half-time break gave
Trent some time to re-group and re-focus, but it made little difference. The
men came out as they began, achieving a first and second place finish in the 50
metres Butterfly. A time of 53.32 seconds was enough in the 100 metres
Freestyle to beat the Trent competitor’s extremely respectable time of 54.24.
By the time the 4x50 metres Freestyle Relay came around, the competition was
long gone for Trent, and the University of Nottingham team annihilated them,
once again in both first and second place. The only real competition for the
University of Nottingham men came from within their own ranks, as they fought
for first place on the (imaginary) podium.
The final race was the most
exciting. The ‘8x50 metres Individual Medley Skins’ involved 8 competitors, 4
from each side, racing 50 metres in a stroke that was to be randomly selected.
The slowest competitor would be eliminated, leaving 7 competitors to race
again, and so on. This was to be repeated until the final showdown, where the
last two men standing would race for the title. After 4 eliminations, the
rivals were stalemate, each with two men remaining. Unfortunately for Trent,
those two University of Nottingham swimmers proved too strong, and both found
themselves up against each other in a final that was to be irrelevant for the
swimmers as a squad – though I’m sure the two teammates had a different
perspective on the matter.
Women’s
Much like the male half of
the University of Nottingham swimming squad, the females obliterated their
Trent opponents in what was by no means a tightly-fought contest. The 2013
Varsity swimming tournament began with the women’s 4x50 metres Medley, and the team’s
first victory on what was to become a long list! This first race set the
precedent for the women’s following races, and again, they didn’t let their
performances slip.
The following three races –
the 100 metres Individual Medley, the 100 metres Butterfly and the 50 metres Backstroke
– were won comfortably by the University of Nottingham girls. Additionally,
second places were secured in the 100 metres Individual Medley and 50 metres
Backstroke. Things were going swimmingly (so to speak!) until Nottingham Trent
finally gave us an idea of their strong point – Breastroke. The Trent swimmer
put in a fantastic race against our very own UoN competition (who swam a very
strong race herself) to secure Trent’s very first victory of the afternoon. The
win was met with a huge roar from the Trent side, who must have felt a
humongous sense of relief simply by ensuring they weren’t to be defeated in
each and every race. As a University of Nottingham onlooker, you couldn’t help
but be pleased for her in the face of a considerably inferior Trent squad.
Normality resumed however in
the 50 metres freestyle, with the University of Nottingham champion managing an
inspiring time of 27.57 seconds.
Following the half-time
break the women continued the University of Nottingham’s dominance with superb
displays in 50 metres Butterfly and 100 metres Backstroke. In both instances
the UoN team managed to secure the top two places, particularly annihilating
the Trent competition in the Backstroke. It was then time for the 50 metres
Breastroke – which again proved to be Trent’s personal best stroke. The female
competitors from both sides swam what was a neck-and-neck battle which was to
go right down to the finish… where the University of Nottingham still managed
to deliver the win, of course. Trent’s time recording of 37.32 was a matter of
milliseconds behind the 37.06 achieved by our very own athlete.
The 100 metres Freestyle was
a far more straightforward victory for UoN, taking first and second place once
again. The following race, however, was to provide somewhat of a shock. The
4x50 metres Freestyle Relay proved to be the best race of the entire
competition, ending with Nottingham Trent’s second, and final victory of the
afternoon – the University of Nottingham were forced to settle for second and
third place on this occasion.
Finally, again, the 8x50
metres Individual Medley Skins was a thrilling way to end a superb day of
swimming for the UoN squad. As described above, the slowest swimmer in each
race was to be eliminated until only two swimmers remain. Nottingham Trent
found themselves with three out of their four swimmers eliminated in the first
three rounds, leaving the hope of Trent’s entire swimming team resting on the
shoulders of one swimmer for the remaining 4 races. Outstandingly, the Trent
representative managed to survive each round, leaving a true University of
Nottingham versus Nottingham Trent final to end the competition. In line with
the rest of the contest, the UoN swimmer did the university proud, beating the
exceptional Trent athlete in the final showdown.
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