Andrew Garcia

Published: 15 November, 2012
by STEVE BARNETT

PREMIER pool performances from Andrew Garcia and Olivia Willis helped Camden Swiss Cottage secure second place in the National Swimming League on Saturday in Harlow.

Andrew started the day in style as he swam a personal best time of 1.06.83 to win the boys’ 13 and under 100m butterfly. He then joined forces with team-mates Dempster Fawden, Qasim Khan and Bryce Puszet to finish second in both medley and freestyle relays.

Golden girl Olivia also shone in the pool as she raced to victory in the girls’ 15 and under 100m backstroke with a time of 1.05.40. She also finished second in the 100m breaststroke and third in the women’s 200m individual medley. Olivia capped a memorable meet by swimming the breaststroke leg in the victorious girls’ 15 and under medley relay, with Aimee Nahal on backstroke, Isobel Moffat on butterfly and Tamir Gonen-Cohen on freestyle.

Camden Swiss Cottage notched up a creditable 288 points to finish second overall on the day, just behind winners Ealing who topped the podium with 328 points.

Despite narrowly missing out on top spot, however, Camden can reflect proudly on a series of impressive individual displays.

Adam Harrington dominated the men’s 200m individual medley and the 100m backstroke, while Leo Jaggs proved unbeatable in the 100m freestyle.

Adam and Leo then teamed up with Joan-Sebastian Tello and Iao Pok Wong to take gold in the men’s medley relay.

The formidable foursome were joined by James Slade and Josh Kenway to raise the roof in the final event of the day as they beat Ealing by 0.26 of a second to take first place in the men’s 6x50m freestyle squadron.

Other top individual results saw Bryce take second place in the 100m freestyle and the 100m backstroke, while Brendan Comyn smashed his previous best to record a time of 1.04.98 and earn a second-place finish in the 100m butterfly.

Hok Wong finished second in the 100m breaststroke, before joining Brendan, James, and Zachary Streat to finish second in the medley relay. Brendan was then replaced in the relay team by Peter Schlichter as Camden picked up another impressive second place finish in the freestyle.