Lily Booker wins two golds in same race at National Winter Championships

Lily Booker shattered her personal best by more than three-and-a-half seconds to win two gold medals in the same race at the National Winter Championships.

The 18-year-old Millfield swimmer blitzed the field in the final of the Women’s 400m Individual Medley and triumphed by more than four seconds – which was also 10 seconds faster than her qualification time.

It was an impressive performance start to finish from Booker, who clocked 4:36.06.

The time earned her two gold medals – one as winner of the open final and the other for clocking the fastest youth time.

Booker touched home 4.03 seconds ahead of the fastest qualifier, Amber Keegan.

She said: “I’m pretty happy, to be honest. It’s the last race of the meet so I wondered what it would hold.

“I could see Amber next to me and I was just like ‘I’ve got to give it everything’.

“There was no way I wasn’t getting my hand on that wall first. It’s Christmas now and so it’s like Christmas training (sigh) but now all the racing’s done for the year, I can switch my focus to long course.

“I’d love to go to the Olympics, that would be the ultimate aim for me. To make it onto the British team would be awesome, that would be the dream. Exactly where I want to go really.

“But just [setting] personal bests really, to get racing, and keep having fun, yeah, that’s the aim. But the Olympics, that’s what I’ve got my eyes on, I don’t know but I’ll definitely give it my best shot.”

City of Sheffield’s Keegan swam a season’s best time to take the silver medal in 4:40.09.

The 22-year-old fought off the late surge from Leicester Sharks’ Michaella Glenister to take second spot by 0.78 seconds.

Glenister was almost two seconds adrift of Keegan with the final 50m to go but had to settle for third place in a time of 4:40.87.

It also earned Glenister the silver youth medal, just in front of fourth-placed Isabelle Goodwin, of City of Leeds, who clocked 4:44.34 to take the youth bronze.

Adam at his best to deny Murphy hat-trick

Plymouth Leander’s Adam Chillingworth clocked a personal best to deny David Murphy a clean sweep of the Men’s Breaststroke titles.

Murphy had won both the 50m and 100m titles and made an impressive start to the 200m final on the final day of the National Winter Championships at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge.

But 22-year-old Chillingworth denied him the hat-trick as he shaved 0.24 seconds off his previous record to touch home in 2:07.60 for the gold medal.

Murphy in fact had to settle for third place as City of Derby’s Edward Baxter recorded a season’s best of 2:08.29 to take second spot.

The 21-year-old was 1.57 ahead of Murphy, who finished in 2:09.86 to add a bronze medal to his two golds already won earlier in the week.

Millfield’s William Ellington finished eighth in the open final to win the youth gold medal in a time of 2:13.47.

Plymouth Leander’s Filippo Coacci took the silver medal after winning the youth final in 2:13.50, with City of Manchester Aquatics’ James Bilbao the youth bronze winner in 2:14.43.

Wood seals third gold of championships

Abbie Wood had to be at her very best to claim claimed her third gold medal of the National Winter Championships.

All three swimmers on the podium set new personal bests in the Women’s 200m Freestyle with Wood edging out her Loughborough University team-mates Candice Hall for the gold.

Wood triumphed in 1:56.66 to add to her collection of golds having won both the 200m Individual Medley and 400m Freestyle.

The 20-year-old was 0.4 seconds in front of  Hall, who also set a personal best of 1:57.09 to take the silver medal.

Bronze medallist Leah Crisp, of City of Leeds, new best time now stands at 1:59.06, which also earned her the youth gold medal.

It was 0.09 seconds clear of fourth-placed Jemima Hall, of Wycombe District, who took the youth silver as consolation.

Plymouth Leander’s Greta Kolbeck won the youth bronze in a time of 1:59.98.