City of Liverpool retain top club title at Open Water NAG Champs

Having also topped the standings in 2025, City of Liverpool retained the prestigious award thanks to a series of strong performances throughout the day, with swimmers contributing valuable points across all age groups and race distances.

Gold medals for Thomas Rickels in the Open/Male 15 years 5km race and Albion Dobrushi in the Open 3km event, as well as silver medals for Ethan Kelly in the Open/Male 17/18 years 7.5km race and Ella Lambert in the 3km, and Kate Roberts’ bronze medal in the Female 17/18 years 7.5km category ended up securing Liverpool the title.

Newcastle’s Aidan Turner produced the fastest men’s swim of the distance, taking the Open/Male 17/18 years title in 1:23.20, while Ella Dyson (Wycombe District) was the quickest female swimmer over 7.5km, claiming the Female 19+ years crown in 1:27.30.

One of the standout moments of the morning came in the Female 16 years race, where the podium was decided by just nine seconds. Jasmine Hall (Basildon & Phoenix) edged a thrilling finish ahead of Darcey Arnold (Leatherhead) and Matilda Bassindale (Portsmouth Northsea).

The championships then moved onto the 5km races for the 14 and 15-year-old age groups, where several events were decided by fine margins.

The Open/Male 14 years race saw just 26 seconds separate the medal positions, with Romeo Ball (Maidstone) leading home a tightly packed field. In the Female 14 years event, only 46 seconds covered the top three swimmers as Annie Falkous (Morpeth) secured the national title.

The fastest 5km swim of the session then came from Liverpool’s Rickels, who won the Open/Male 15 years category in 1:07.32 ahead of Aaron Cain who made it three medals for Wycombe, while Ellie Macleod (Woking) took gold in the Female 15 years race.

The Open/Male 13 years race produced one of the closest finishes of the day, with Dobrushi touching home first in 40:47, just four seconds ahead of Ethan Craven (Warrington Warriors).

In the Female 13 years event, Harriet Stanley (Wycombe District) claimed gold, while Liverpool’s Lambert secured silver in another tightly contested race where only 39 seconds separated the medallists.

With National Age Group titles decided across all three distances and City of Liverpool being crowned top club once again, Open Water racing is not over yet for this weekend. Tomorrow, attention turns to the Swim England Open Water Masters National Championships which kick off at 10am with the 5km race.