Rushmoor lift Redwood Trophy with Free Team gold

Rushmoor finally got their hands back on the Redwood Trophy after completing a hat-trick of wins in the team events at the National Synchronised Swimming Championships 2017.

The Hampshire club already had one hand on the iconic Trophy – awarded to the club with the most combined points from the Technical and Free Team routines – after victory in the Team Tech earlier in the day.

They knew they were in good form as well, having won gold on the opening day in the Free Combination event.

And it was more of the same in the Free Team as Rushmoor scored 74.2333 for a confident performance of their spy-themed routine to the theme from ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E’.

“We wanted it so badly today,” said Rushmoor swimmer Emma Critchley.

“We’ve put a lot of time into that routine. We have three hour training sessions on every routine we go through.”

Hannah Randall added: “Emma [Critchley] and I have been in the GB team at the past few years so it was nice to come back and swim with the Champs team and with our friends.”

They impressed with their intensity throughout, as well as the difficulty of some of their highlights, including a double lift to kick off the routine.

Bristol impress for silver while Leeds pick up bronze

City of Bristol put in a bold attempt to try and retain the Redwood Trophy, scoring an impressive 71.6333 for their pirate-themed routine.

It was an improvement of more than four points on their free routine 12 months ago, with lots of variation and intricate moves in an entertaining routine which climaxed in a high-paced finish.

As in both the Free Combination and Team Tech events, City of Leeds completed the podium with bronze.

Leeds swimmer Rebecca Richardson picked up her seventh medal of the competition with the team as they scored 65.3000 to finish ahead of Rushmoor’s ‘B’ team in fourth on 63.4667.

Free Team Results