Lucas and Chloe headline for KKSC at Regionals

The Swim South West Regional Championships concluded with five Kingfishers taking part over three weekends of racing.

Qualifying for the regionals in Bristol on Sunday, 11 May, is an outstanding achievement, and the level of competition is always very high. This did not deter Chloe Morris and Lucas Quiggin, who made their mark on the competition from the first weekend.

Daniel, Lucas, George and Chloe raring to go up in Bristol

Lucas qualified for his first pair of regional finals with outstanding personal best times in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke. On each occasion he finished sixth out of eighth finalists, a result that means he will end the 2024/25 season only a couple of seconds away from national qualification. 

Chloe - who won a bronze medal at this event last season - went one better in the first weekend, winning a pair of silver medals in the 50m Breaststroke and the 200m Individual Medley. However her best was yet to come. 

After a third silver on the penultimate day, a great performance in the 200m Breaststroke heats suddenly gave her a realistic shot at a gold medal. She followed the prompts of her coaches perfectly to come from behind on the final length to win her first South West regional title, her greatest achievement to date. 

Her performances are very likely to qualify her for the Swim England Summer National Competition in three events.  

George Tucker battled well and swam strongly in several freestyle and backstroke events. His highest finish was 14th in the 1,500m Freestyle, though triathlon success in the ISA Nationals in Ipswich - where he finished first in his age group - brought the biggest smile over the past three weekends.

The second weekend of Regionals is only for swimmers aged 15 years and over, and is held over three busy days at the Life Centre in Plymouth. Frida Gallego-Cooper was the only KKSC representative for 2025, as she competed in the 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly. She came closest to reaching a final in the freestyle, missing out by only half a second.

The fifth Kingsbridge entrant was Daniel Carrick, whose rise to become a regional swimmer has been rapid. He had only joined the club 12 months earlier - his first ever race taking place in July - and yet by March he was able to swim a time fast enough that allowed him entry into the South West’s biggest swim competition in the 50m Breaststroke.

He placed 47th overall in that event, a result that never mattered, as qualifying for this competition was always just a stepping stone for better things to come as he continues to develop.

There is no doubt that Lucas, Chloe, George, Frida and Daniel are helping to inspire many of our younger swimmers to train hard and reach regional level next season - with the coaching team quietly confident that our 2026 squad could be larger. 

Kingfishers’ next big event will exclude the five swimmers who attended the 2025 Regionals - for they are considered too fast to enter the Devon Development Gala - which begins on Saturday, 14 June.