Ellard makes history with double World Record on opening day of National Winter Championships

December 11, 2025

The opening day of the Swim England GoCardless National Winter Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield delivered a sensational start with world records, British records and standout performances setting the tone for an action-packed four days of racing.

William Ellard of Manchester Performance Centre stole the headlines with an extraordinary display across two events. The para-swimmer (S14 classification) broke the Open/Male MC 400m Freestyle World Record not once, but twice – first in the heats and then again in the final, lowering the mark to an incredible 3:55.11.

Ellard wasn’t finished there. In the 200m Freestyle, he became the first para athlete in history to dip under the 1:50.00 barrier, clocking 1:49.49 to claim another World Record in the same session.

On his double, he said: “I had the 400 first and then the 200 which was pretty good, first time under 1.50,00. I’ve got them tomorrow as well (in the Open/Male category) so hopefully I can go a little faster and make the B final. I haven’t raced at all this year, I’ve just been back.
“I wasn’t expecting too much and just wanted to have a bit of fun with friends and being here with Manchester Performance Centre.”

In the women’s events, Repton’s Eva Okaro produced a stunning swim in the Female 100m Freestyle final, taking gold in 51.74 and winning the Bush Trophy. That time makes her only the third British woman ever to go under 52.00 seconds. With her sights now firmly set on the British record, Okaro’s performance signals exciting times ahead.

On her future goals, she said: “I definitely want to strive for that British record but I think I’ve still got a while to go – we’ll see.”

Furthermore, Amalie Smith of RTW Monson kicked off her four-day campaign in style. The recently crowned Swim England Swimming Talent Athlete of the Year claimed double gold in the 200m Individual Medley, winning both junior and senior titles in 2:07.83, before adding a bronze medal in the Junior 100m Freestyle.

For her 200 IM achievement, she also got awarded the Mrs H Spencer Trophy for being the highest ranked female junior swimmer.

Smith has made no secret of her ambition: earning a spot on Team England’s Commonwealth Games squad for Glasgow 2026.

“I would like to make the Commonwealth Games and hopefully the Senior Euros in Paris next year.”

Another outstanding performance came from Loughborough University’s Tyler Melbourne-Smith who swam the world leading time in 2025 in the Open/Male 400m Freestyle event (3:36.09).

Last but not least, there was a British record-breaking swim from Cameron Brooker of the Bath Performance Centre, who stormed to victory in the Open/Male 200m Backstroke with a time of 1:48.36 – a new British best.

It’s been a thrilling start to the championships, with more action to come as the competition continues through to Sunday evening.

See the full roll of honour below.

GoCardless Swim England National Winter Championships day one medal roll of honour

Female 800m Freestyle

Senior
1. Lucy Fox, Loughborough University, 8:23.87
2. Sophie Benn, Mount Kelly, 8:29.81
3. Lucy Parsons, Loughborough University, 8:30.32

Junior
1. Kerry Hennie, City of Liverpool, 8:35.29
2. Abbie Roscoe, Wirral Metro, 8:38.23
3. Hazel-Anne Carter, Wycombe District Swimming Club, 8:44.90

Open/Male MC 400m Freestyle

1. William Ellard, Manchester Performance Centre, 3:55.11, 1061 pts (⭐ New World Record ⭐)
2. Jason Van Der Merwe, Borough of Newham, 4:11.64, 865 pts
3. Kieran Williams, Manchester Performance Centre, 4:10.85, 817 pts

Female MC 400m Freestyle

1. Brooklyn Hale, Cockermouth Swimming Club, 4:49.73, 883 pts
2. Tara Beard, Maxwell Swimming Club, 4:40.23, 856 pts
3. Emilie Higgs, Newport Pagnall Swimming Club, 4:54.38, 738 pts

Open/Male 100m Breaststroke

Senior
1. Max Morgan, Reed’s Swimming Club, 57.84
2. Greg Butler, Loughborough Performance Centre, 58.00
3. Adam Bradley, Mount Kelly, 58.87

Junior
1. Max Morgan, Reed’s Swimming Club, 57.84
2. William Tonks, Repton School, 1:00.09
3. Edward Robinson, Chelsea and Westminster Swimming Club, 1:01.42

Female 200 IM

Senior
1. Amalie Smith, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 2:07.83
2. Leah Schlosshan, Manchester Performance Centre, 2:08.03
3. Candice Hall, City of Sheffield, 2:11.50

Junior
1. Amalie Smith, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 2:07.83
2. Holly Hopwood, Guildford City Swimming Club, 2:11.84
3. Ines Guimond-Beetham, Camden Swiss Swimming Club, 2:12.42

Open/Male 50m Butterfly

Senior
1. Joshua Gammon, Bath PC, 22.19
2. Jacob Peters, Bath PC, 22.42
3. Jamie Ingram, City of Manchester Aquatics, 22.74

Junior
1. Abduljabar Adama, Mount Kelly, 22.82
2. Gabriel Shepherd, City of Leeds, 23.06
3. Joshua Shepherd, Thurrock Swimming Club, 23.62

Open/Male MC 200m Freestyle

1. William Ellard, Manchester Performance Centre, 1:49.49, 1031 pts (⭐ New World Record ⭐)
2. Mark Tompsett, Manchester Performance Centre, 1:56.38, 859 pts
3. Harry Stewart, Manchester Performance Centre, 1:57.60, 832 pts

Female MC 200m Freestyle

1. Poppy Maskill, Manchester Performance Centre, 2:04.26 986 pts
2. Olivia Newman-Baronius, Maxwell Swimming Club, 2:04.56, 979 pts
3. Grace Robinson, City of Manchester Aquatics, 2:13.35, 798 pts

Female 100m Freestyle

Senior
1. Eva Okaro, Repton School, 51.74
2. Harriet Rogers, Borough of Stockton, 53.27
3. Kate Clifton, City of Sheffield, 53.91

Junior
1. Annabelle Compton, Wycombe District Swimming Club, 54.12
2. Hannah Capron, City of Brighton & Hove, 54.63
3. Amalie Smith, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 54.99

Open/Male 400m Freestyle

Senior
1. Tyler Melbourne-Smith, Loughborough University, 3:36.09
2. Freddie Ashley-Sparks, Wycombe District Swimming Club, 3:43.50
3. Hector Pardoe, Loughborough University, 3:44.42

Junior
1. Makar Yakhno, Portsmouth Northsea Swimming Club, 3:47.34
2. Llewellyn Porter, Camden Swiss Swimming Club, 3:47.36
3. Morgan Davies, Mount Kelly, 3:51.42

Female 100m Breaststroke

Senior
1. Imogen Clark, Repton School, 1:05.99
2. Sienna Robinson, Loughborough University, 1:06.12
3. Imogen Myles, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 1:07.45

Junior
1. Imogen Myles, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 1:07.45
2. Jasmine Carter, Mount Kelly, 1:08.26
3. Gabrielle Idle-Beavers, Mount Kelly, 1:08.26

Open/Male MC 50m Butterfly

1. Bruce Dee, Manchester Performance Centre, 33.06, 855 pts

Female MC 50m Butterfly

1. Iona Winnifrith, Tonbridge Swimming Club, 37.97, 759 pts

Open/Male 200m Backstroke

Senior
1. Cameron Brooker, Bath Performance Centre, 1:48.36
2. Luke Greenbank, Loughborough Performance Centre, 1:48.91
3. Jack Skerry, Bath Performance Centre, 1:51.92

Junior
1. Aidan Orpin, Sutton Cheam Swimming Club, 1:56.67
2. Daniel Ransom, City of Leeds, 1:56.45
3. Austyn Manley, Repton School, 1:56.72

Open/Male 100m IM

Senior
1. Aran Bissett, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 53.45
2. Joe Litchfield, Loughborough Performance Centre, 54.00
3. Alexander Casey, Loughborough University, 54.13

Junior
1. Aran Bissett, RTW Monsoon Swimming Club, 53.45
2. Daniel Ransom, City of Leeds, 54.70
3. Austyn Manley, Repton School, 55.83