Kingsbridge Kingfishers Swimming Club has its first county champion in a decade in Chloe Morris

Kingsbridge Kingfishers Swimming Club is celebrating its first county champion of the decade as Chloe Morris won the 50m breaststroke final in 36 seconds. 

The success has come after plenty of near misses. Prior to her win, she had already won three silver medals and three bronze medals.

Not only has she beaten everyone her age in Devon, she has also beaten some swimmers who come from other parts of the country who attend and swim for some of Devon’s private schools. The achievement is a great milestone for her ahead of the South West Regional Championships, and her attempts to qualify for her first National Championships.

Kingfishers almost won a second gold just fifteen minutes later when George Tucker produced a thrilling comeback to go within 0.04 seconds of gold in the 200 Freestyle. It was George’s second silver medal of the competition so far.

Also achieving a medal for the first time was nine-year-old Toby Morris, made more impressive by the fact he has to race against swimmers a full year older than him. He won bronze in the 50 Breaststroke.

Ten different Kingfishers have managed to get out of the preliminary round and into finals. Layla Quiggin finished fourth once and fifth twice. Romy Stephenson finished fifth, sixth and seventh in her three finals. Emilia McKinlay has reached three finals too, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth. 

Lucas Quiggin came fifth in the 200 Breaststroke. The winner of that event, a student of Mount Kelly, would later go on to set a British age group record. Lottie Taylor came seventh in the 200 Freestyle, and improved this a day later by coming fifth in the 400 Freestyle. Also qualifying for finals were George Stone and Faye Morris.

All of this would not be possible without the countless hours of volunteering from many parents who have completed a number of roles to help the event run smoothly. Without their time, there would be nothing to celebrate.

One more weekend of racing remains, with many more chances of Kingfishers success to come.