Emma Van Selm smashes personal best to win Summer Meet gold

Emma van Selm took more than four seconds off her lifetime best to win gold in the Women’s 16 Years 200m Freestyle at the Swim England National Summer Meet 2019.

The Bromley swimmer touched the wall in a superb time of 2:06.08, having beaten her previous personal best with a swim of 2:10.15 in the heats.

That means Van Selm has improved by more than 10 seconds in a little over a year.

She was more than a second clear of silver medallist Melody Jones, of Borough of Stockton, who also impressed in a time of 2:07.31.

In another big milestone swim, Amy Pemberton went almost two seconds quicker than ever before to win the 17 Years and Over title.

The Plymouth Leander swimmer equalled her PB of 2:07.37 in the heats and had clearly left plenty in the tank for the final.

Pemberton won the title in 2:05.56, closely followed by St Felix School’s Charlotte Walker, who won silver in 2:05.91.

Doncaster Dartes’s Chantelle Waugh was third in 2:06.38.

Stockport Metro’s Amy West won gold in an exciting 15 Years final.

West surged to win in 2:07.09, with City of Peterborough’s Harriet Salisbury second in 2:07.37 and Canadian Freya Rothery close behind in 2:07.67 to win a commemorative bronze medal.

City of Sheffield’s Abigail Miles was the third-placed English swimmer in 2:08.64.

That was Stockport’s second consecutive gold medal, with Hermione Roe having won the 14 Years final.

Roe’s time of 2:08.17 was her quickest ever swim by more than 1.5 seconds.

Borough of Waltham Forest’s Isabel Iley won silver in 2:08.35, while City of Birmingham’s Keira Hancock also swam under 2:09 to win bronze.

City of Birmingham’s Maia Noonan held off City of Sheffield’s Ashleigh Baillie to claim the 12/13 Years title.

Noonan was almost two seconds clear at the final turn and just held on to win in a new personal best time of 2:09.03.

Baillie was second in 2:09.95, while Team Ipswich’s Matilda Bogle pipped Sevenoak’s Eva Okaro to the bronze medal.

Men’s 50m Freestyle

Alexander Cohoon smashed his personal best time for the second time in a day to win gold in the Men’s 17 Years 50m Freestyle.

The Cirencester swimmer had shaved 0.35s off his previous lifetime best in the morning’s heat and he continued his rise in the final.

Cohoon dipped below the 24-second barrier for the first time, winning the title in 23.86s.

Mid Sussex Marlins’ Thomas Exall won silver in 24.06s, while Ellesmere College swimmer Ayotobi Laguda took bronze in 24.14.

Norwich Swan Swimming Club’s Finley Coman snuck home for gold in the most thrilling race of the night.

Coman touched the wall in 25.82s to win the 13/14 Years title, with Isle of Wight’s Joe Carter and City of Birmingham’s Harvey Higgins just 0.07s behind him to tie for the silver medal.

Millfield’s Marcus Rogers pipped his rivals to gold in a tight 18 Years and Over final.

Just 0.13s separated the three medallists, with Rogers winning in 23.37, ahead of East Leeds’ Alistair Crawford (23.43) and Bath University’s Bruno Kempster (23.50).

Harlow’s Alessandro Rioda won his second consecutive 50m Freestyle, storming to victory in the 15 Years final.

Last year’s 13/14 Years champion clocked 24.63s, with Thanet’s Joshua Crabtree (24.91) winning silver and Dartmoor’s Cameron Williams (25.10) taking the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, City of Birmingham’s William Cooper edged out Pershore’s Patrick Heeks to win the 16 Years final.

Cooper touched the wall in 24.42s, just 0.05s ahead of silver medallist Heeks.

York City’s Jason Robson rounded out the podium in 24.68s.

Men’s MC 100m Breaststroke

Kingston Upon Hull’s Owen Garsides won the Men’s MC 100m Breaststroke title by an impressive 60 points.

The SB14 swimmer clocked a PB of 1:17.95 for a total of 613 points, with City of Coventry’s Joshua Fairchild winning silver in a time of 1:02.70.

Garsides won bronze in both the 100m Backstroke and 100m Butterfly at the 2018 Summer Meet and will be confident of adding to his 2019 medal haul.

Scarborough’s Angus Leckonby took home the bronze, swimming 1:23.12 for 506 points.

Women’s MC 100m Breaststroke

Camden Swiss Cottage’s Charlotte Hyde snuck inside her personal best time to win the Women’s MC 100m Breaststroke final.

The 2018 MC 400m Freestyle champion clocked 1:52.37 for a total of 578 points.

That was enough to narrowly edge out her fellow SB6 competitor, Polly Sutton.

The 11-year-old City of Derby swimmer swam 1:53.59 for 560 points.

Another Derby swimmer, Megan Neave, touched the wall first in 1:28.23 to claim bronze with 557 points.