Swim England National Masters – Sheffield- October
The Nationals yet again provided a great sociable, record breaking weekend. Our Masters won a total of twelve individual medals, four of each colour. Club stalwarts Dave Wright and Graham Powell both won gold medals whilst Sam Bradley brought home two golds from his multi-classification para swimmer events. Over the three days, the squad of seven set no fewer than three East Region, seven County and eight Club Masters records.
Dave Wright was the first to claim a medal, a silver, for his 200m Freestyle in the 65-69 years’ age group. Duly warmed-up, the next day Dave went on to be crowned champion in his 200m Butterfly demolishing the East Region record by over 40 seconds in the process. He completed his personal medal collection with a bronze for his 800m Freestyle, beating a long-time rival in the event for the first time by just over 1.5 seconds. Both of Dave’s freestyle times also broke the County records held previously by fellow club mates, Ian Stoughton and Alastair Gibb.
Graham Powell, like Dave, benefited from having moved up an age group to also pick up a full set of medals in his 70-74 years’ events. The gold came with his 100m Backstroke with silvers over both 50m and 200m. A bronze came from his 50m Butterfly. His times in the two sprints broke his own East and Beds County records set earlier in the year whilst Graham also shaved 0.14 off his own Beds County 200m Backstroke record.
The 400m IM produced three of the medals for the squad.
Alastair Gibb claimed a bronze in the 65-69 years’ for the second successive year, whilst finishing 4th in both the 100m and 200m IM events.
Karen Mackenzie matched Alastair with a bronze medal in her 50-54 years’ age group 400m IM and finished 5th in her 100m Backstroke.
In his last year in the 40-45 years’ age group, Mark Lewis went one better in the 400m IM with a silver medal. Swimming personal best times for the year in all five of his individual events, Mark possibly took most delight with his 50m Butterfly time. He had strived for the past two years, without success, to claim Graham Powell’s Masters Club record of 30.41,set way back in October 2000. Mark won his seeded heat to hit the wall in ……. 30.41 seconds. Graham was doubly pleased with that outcome!
Sam Bradley claimed golds in the two of his events (100m Backstroke and IM) which ranked for medals amongst the multi-classification para swimmers. He also shaved 0.5 seconds off his own 30-34 years’ 200m Freestyle Club record whilst taking pride in beating Graham Powell’s time in the 200m Backstroke.
Not favouring the scheduling of individual races, Michelle Neal had nevertheless been persuaded to travel up Sheffield to partake in two Mixed 200-239 years’ relays (and a great evening’s social). Not fazed by being up against up against World record breaking competition in their age group, the team with a combined age of 213 were tasked with an attempt on the Beds County record of 4:44.86 for the 4x100m Freestyle relay. With a 70-74 years’ Beds individual freestyle record opening split from Graham Powell (1:12.00), the rest of the quartet of Karen Mackenzie (1:13.31), Michelle (1:10.66) and Mark Lewis (1.1.93) knocked eight seconds off the record to finish in 6th place. It made Michelle’s trip worthwhile and Graham extra proud in front of the surprise delegation from his Stockwood Park Rugby Club in the spectator gallery!
The Ponds Forge is famous for being a “fast” pool. It no doubt helped account for no fewer than 23 fastest 2026 personal short course times being registered across the 27 events in which our squad participated. Those performances were also testament to the coaching provided by Pauline Harrington and Jane Cattle and the encouraging banter provided by the rest of the Masters at squad training sessions. Nor should we forget the support for our endeavours from long-suffering partners and families back home.
Barnet Copthall’s Sprints + – September
Eight of our Masters competed in 25 individual events at Barnet Copthall’s Masters Sprint + Meet, achieving 17 top-three finishes.
In a lengthy day of competition, the squad took great pride in seeing the quartet of Karen MacKenzie (53) , Nicola Monk (53), Graham Powell (70) and Ian Stoughton (67) break both Beds 240-279 years 4 x 50m Medley and 4 x 50m Freestyle relay records. They shaved 0.83 and 1.42 seconds off the respective records held by South Beds Masters since 2017 and 2011.
Graham Powell also broke the East & Beds records for the 70 -74 years 50m Butterfly in addition to claiming a new County record for his 50m Breaststroke.
The individual medals came from Ian Stoughton (2 gold, 2 silver), Graham Powell (2 gold, 2 silver), Nicola Monk (1 gold, 1 silver), Alastair Gibb (2 silver), Mark Lewis (1 silver), Sam Bradley (1 silver), Ian Norman (2 bronze) and Karen MacKenzie (1 bronze).
Special mentions also go to:
- Ian Stoughton and Ian Norman, who each completed an intensive six-race schedule covering 850m, with Ian Norman making major improvements on his 2026 times over 100m, 200m and 400m Freestyle.
- Sam Bradley, who set a new Club 30–34 years Masters record in the 100m Breaststroke.
- Nicola Monk, for suggesting the Mixed relay entries, and Mark Lewis, for his actuarial analysis identifying the most vulnerable County age-group records to target.
Berks & Sth Bucks – Bracknell – September
All four competing in the Berks & South Bucks Championships produced personal times of which they could be proud.
Sam Bradley’s winning time of 2:58.47 in his 30-34 years’ 200m Backstroke was his fastest this year by over 4 seconds. He followed it with a 1:25.89 to finish second in the100m.
In both Ladies 50-54 years’ events over the same distances Karen Mackenzie finished second. Her 200m time was over 2.5 seconds faster than she had swum earlier in the year.
The Club’s 40-44 years’ 50m butterfly record from 2000 proved elusive once more for Mark Lewis. He still came away with the bronze medal for his valiant effort. Some consolation came with a personal Masters best ever time of 28.07 to finish 4th in his 50m Freestyle.
In the 65-69 year age group, Alastair Gibb had unopposed victories in his three races. A period of sustained training paid dividends, improving on his 2026 times by substantial margins – 200m Backstroke (9.21seconds), 100m Backstroke (2.15 ) and 200m Breast (6.55 ) – whilst boosting his Decathlon Competition score for the year by over 80 points.
Northern Wave Masters – Manchester – August
Opting to only travel to Manchester (rather than the European Masters in Bratislava), Tom Burns and Mark Lewis both broke Club records at the Northern Wave Long Course Masters Meet.
Tom’s time of 37.23, to be placed second in his 50m Backstroke, took 3.52 seconds off Sam Bradley’s record from 2022. It gave Tom his second Club Masters record in the 25-29 years’ age group.
Mark Lewis won the 40-44 years’ 100m Breaststroke in a time of 1:21.66. Smashing his own pb by 1.68seconds, Mark shaved 0.26 seconds off Malcolm Barton’s record that was set back in April 1996. Mark was also just 0.29 seconds outside the Beds County record for his age group.
Barnet Masters – July
Three more County records were claimed at the Barnet Masters’ Distance Meet – in amongst a number of World, European and British Masters records!
With a combined age of 2027, Mark Lewis, Alastair Gibb, Graham Powell & Tom Burns registered a time for the 200-239 years age group of 10:53.99 in the 4 x 200m Freestyle relay.
Graham Powell broke the Beds 70-74 years’ 100m and 200m Backstroke records by 5.25 and 6.87 seconds with his winning times of 1:19.45 and 2:58.87. Both were the second fastest times so far this year by British swimmers in his age group..
Everyone else also came home with individual medals; Alastair Gibb (1 Gold, 2 Silver), Mark Lewis (1 Gold 2 Silver), Tom Burns ( 1 Gold, 1 Bronze), Ian Norman ( 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) and Sarah Ward (1 Silver).
Sarah’s time in her 35-39 years’ 800m Freestyle reduced the Club’s record for that age group down to 10:49.90. It capped a record-breaking week for Sarah. A time of 5:16.54 had broken her own Club record for the 400m by over 5 seconds at Dorchester the previous weekend. Sarah had also clipped 0.04 and 0.13 seconds off the Club’s 35-39 years’ records over 100m (1:09.89) and 200m (2:30.09) Freestyle.
GB Masters – Aberdeen – June
Four of our Masters flew up to Aberdeen for the British Masters (Long Course) Championships. They returned from the three day Meet with a total of five medals and both Karen Mackenzie and Graham Powell as Backstroke champions.
Having chosen a pub near to the squad’s hotel complete with a live accordionist playing Scottish music, for their pre-Meet evening meal, Karen Mackenzie had got the squad off to a great start. This continued into the swimming on Day 1 with Karen comfortably winning her Ladies 50-54 years 200m Backstroke. Her time of 3:04.19 was over 5 seconds faster than she had swum at Aldershot in May.
Competing in their 200m Backstroke, Sam Bradley finished 8th in his 30-34 yrs age group. His time of 3:02.98 was a three second improvement on Aldershot. Alastair Gibb meanwhile claimed 5th place in the 65-69 yrs age group.
The Men’s 70-74 years 50m Butterfly was won in a new European record with Graham Powell edged out into 4th spot. His time of 34.82 was just 0.2 seconds outside the East Region record he had set back in Crawley in January.
The next session then saw Karen, Sam and Alastair back in the water for their 200m IM. A time of 3:11.82, a season’s best by 2.5 seconds, saw Karen placed 8th in her age group. Sam’s 3:14.02 earned him 5th place whilst Alastair finished 4th in his age group despite posting a “PWT” ( personal worst time)!
An Italian feast that night set everyone up for an early start for Day 2. Drawn two lanes apart in the same heat for their 400m Individual Medley, Sam led away from Alastair right from the start to finish in a very creditable 6:51.27. That again placed Sam 5th in his age group. Having vowed that last year would probably be his last Long Course competitive IM, Alastair still emulated his 2025 GB Masters performance in claiming the silver medal – just somewhat slower than in London.
Karen similarly matched her 2025 British Bronze medal in the 400m IM event but was actually swam 0.03 faster, touching the pads in 6:48.97.
Less than 30 minutes after his 400m IM, Sam was back in the water for a 100m Backstroke posting a time of 1:27.14 to finish 6th. Seeded in the next heat for his first long course 100m Backstroke in 4 years, Graham posted a time of 1:22.19 to knock 3.51seconds off the Eastern Region and Beds County 70-74 years’ records set back in 2009 and claim the silver medal for his age group.
Having chosen to swim in five events Sam was clearly hurting but demonstrating his (comparatively) youthful stamina, he went back in the pool for the next session – and his final swim – the 200m Freestyle where he finished 7th. Why does event selection always look so much easier prior to a Swim Meet?
With Alastair having already made an early departure home to prepare for his next “foreign training trip”, Karen and Sam had chosen to stay over the Saturday evening and enjoy some post swim revelry; a Thai meal helped to complete the international weekend feel. They had not however appreciated that the timing of Scotland’s first World Cup in the early hours of Sunday morning meant the latest pick up they could book for their short taxi ride back to the airport for a 6:40 am flight proved to be 3:55am. The best laid plans……
His gold medal celebrations would of course help Graham “idle away” the next six hours at the airport waiting for his flight back home that evening!
London Region & Erith Masters – May
Karen MacKenzie knocked over 14 seconds off the Beds County Ladies 50 – 54 years Long Course 200m Butterfly record at the London Masters Meet with her winning time of 3:27.46.
It was no mean feat, with Karen having already won her 400m IM in a time of 6:49.00. Karen had also only ever previously raced the 200m event once before and that was in a 25m pool.
Michelle Neal recorded two personal best times to be placed 3rd in the 45- 49 years 100m Freestyle (1:11.72) and 4th over 50m (31.70 seconds). Michelle’s time over the longer distance was a personal best by 1.11 seconds whilst her 50m time was just 0.12 seconds outside Karen’s Club record for that distance. Clearly Michelle’s Wednesday 5:30 am long course sessions this year at Inspire reaped dividends.
Not to be outdone, Mark Lewis recorded a pb of 1:4.65 for his 40-44 years’ 100m Freestyle. He picked up a silver for his 100m Breaststroke and a bronze for his 200m IM.
Tom Burns competed in three races in swift succession at Erith’s meet. In a highly competitive field, Tom was placed 4th in his 25-29 years’ 100m IM (1:15.82) and 5th in his 50m Freestyle (29.6) before picking up a bronze for his 1:04.37 over 100m Freestyle.
Alastair Gibb collected two silver medals for his 65-69 years 200m Breaststroke and 50m Butterfly.
Reading Masters – May
It was so often a case of times that were “so very near but not quite” for most, but not all, of our Masters’ swims at the Reading Masters SC Meet.
Mark Lewis missed his 40-44 years’ Club 200m Butterfly record by just 0.1 seconds to claim a bronze medal whilst picking up a silver for his 50m Butterfly – just 0.4 seconds outside Graham Powell’s County record.
Tom Burns clipped 0.05 seconds off his best time in his 50m Backstroke, finishing in 4th place. He had to wait for the last of his 25-29 years age group’s four races to pick up a bronze medal for his 50m Breaststroke. Tom had earlier touched just 0.2 seconds ahead of Mark in their head to head battle in their 50m Freestyle heat.
Ian Stoughton won a silver medal in each of the 65- 69 years’ 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle events. His sprint time of 31.83 seconds was just 0.03 ahead of the third placed swimmer. Ian’s 200m Freestyle time of 2:326.19 was also just 0.36 seconds outside his own Beds County record set back in February.
Decathlon points were more the focus for Alastair Gibb as he picked up a silver and two bronze medals in that same age group.
Whilst there might have been a slight air of disappointment in their personal times, South Beds failed in their attempt to beat Team Luton’s 160-199 years’ 4 x 50m Freestyle relay record – by 0.02 seconds!
The full results may be accessed here.
Bracknell LC Masters – Aldershot – April
Two months away from the GB Masters championships three of our qualifiers tested themselves at the inaugural Bracknell Masters Long Course meet held at Aldershot Garrison.
Karen MacKenzie, Sam Bradley and Alastair Gibb were all seeded in the same heat for their 200m IM with Karen and Sam in adjacent lanes. Memories of their 400m IM duel last Crawley back in January 2024 came back. Sam had already won a gold for his 30-34 years’ 400m Freestyle with a time of 5:47.17. Despite being 1.95 seconds behind Karen with 50m to go, he duly set off in pursuit. Resisting the challenge, Karen touched a mere 0.03 seconds ahead of Sam to claim gold in her 50-54 years’ age group with a time of 3:14.41. Just 0.15 ahead of Sam at that final turn, Alastair was left to trail behind but still finished in 3:20.36 to win his 65-69 years’ age group.
Sam and Karen reversed positions in their 200m Backstroke with them both claiming the silver medals in their respective age groups.
Derbyshire Masters – March
Mark Lewis maintained his streak of achieving at least one personal best time as the trio who travelled north were in gold medal winning and record-breaking form.
Despite feeling below par, Mark Lewis reduced his own County 40-44 years’ 100m Long course butterfly record to 1:14.30 to claim the bronze medal. Mark went on to claim a gold for his 200m Breaststroke.
Sam Bradley set a Club 30-34 years’ 50m Butterfly record of 41.43 seconds to finish third in his age group, having earlier won his 50m Backstroke.
Karen MacKenzie’s gold came from her 50 -54 years’ 400m IM. She missed her own Club record in the 50m Butterfly by just 0.01 seconds to claim a silver medal with her time of 40.81.
Bracknell Masters – March
Three silver and four bronze medals were brought home from Bracknell’s Short Course Masters Meet.
In the 45- 49 years’ age group, Michelle Neal won a silver and a bronze for her 100m Freestyle and Individual Medley (“IM”) events. One age group up, Karen emulated that hardware with her 100m Backstroke and 200m IM swims.
“Youngster” Tom Burns demonstrated his stamina, competing in four races in the same session. He snatched the silver medal for his 25- 29 years’ 50m Breaststroke by just 0.1 seconds with his time of 37.02. seconds.
Mark Lewis claimed bronze medals for both his 100m IM and 200m Breaststroke. He maintained his record from 2025 of recording at least one personal best time at every Swim Meet with his 50m Freestyle time of 28.23 seconds.
Competing for the first time in Team Luton’s colours, Pete Russell swam in five events with his best placing in his 55-59 years’ age group being 4th in his 200m Freestyle.
Hemel Hempstead Masters – February – The Gala That Went Wrong (But Also Really Right)
Team Luton rocked up in force to Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club’s 2nd Open Masters Winter Meet, with eight of our master swimmers treating it as our new “local” and casually bagging 6 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals from just 22 swims. Not a bad day at the office… or in this case, the slightly chaotic swimming pool.
It might only be the second year this meet has been running, but it’s already found its personality. To be fair, the organisers had a lot to deal with and deserve credit for holding it all together – but there were definitely some comedy moments, including:
- A talk radio station suddenly blasting out over the sound system.
- Lifeguards accidentally trimming the bunting off the backstroke turn flags, leaving backstrokers guessing their turns until it was fixed.
- A starting gun with a mind of its own, forcing one poor swimmer to get off the blocks at the start of their race to go and sort it out.
New faces, close races
Ignoring the circus around them, we had a brilliant debut from Nicola, racing for Team Luton as a master for the first time. She lined up in the same heat as our very own Karen in the 50m breaststroke. It turned into a nail‑biter, with just 0.72 seconds between them at the touch, Karen just pipping Nicola to grab the bronze in their age group.
With over 60 clubs competing, you’d think we’d be racing the whole country – but it often felt like we were mostly racing each other. Karen, who had to wait an eternity at the start of one race while the timing pad in her lane was replaced, still managed to keep her cool and rack up a tidy haul:
- 50m freestyle – silver.
- 50m backstroke – same heat as Rachael, both coming away with golds in their age groups.
- 50m butterfly – initially no time showing on the scoreboard thanks to more gremlins, but once fixed, it turned out she’d earned herself a bronze.
Youth vs experience (and friendly bragging rights)
In the battle of “youth vs experience”, Mark and Tom went head‑to‑head in neighbouring lanes for both the 100m and 200m freestyle. Tom snuck the bragging rights, beating Mark by about a second in each race. Mark, however, had the last laugh in the medal table with two golds in his age group, while Tom claimed two silvers in his.
Tom also took on the 100m individual medley, adding a bronze in his age group to his collection.
Rachael was also in on the IM action, picking up a silver in the 100m individual medley. She didn’t stop there – she added bronzes in both the 50m and 200m freestyle as well, just to keep things interesting.
Rachel’s 200m freestyle saw her in the same heat as Ian, who was busy collecting events of his own: 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke. Ian’s 50m backstroke put him in the same heat as Sam, and once again the scoreboard scriptwriters got involved. The board initially claimed Ian had beaten Sam, which absolutely nobody watching believed. After some head‑scratching and corrections, the truth emerged and Ian was awarded a silver in his age group.
Sam, wisely steering clear of the Everest‑like starting blocks on other strokes, stuck to his backstroke combo of 50m and 100m, and walked away with a bronze in the 100m.
Records, drama and pool noodles
Last but very much not least, Graham is clearly enjoying life in his new age group. His 50m freestyle time didn’t just win him a gold – it set a new club record. He then turned the drama up a notch in the 50m backstroke, where he not only took gold in his age group but also set new club, county and East Region records (all subject to the usual verification, of course).
Feeling slightly invincible, Graham was all set to go and “have a go” at the 50m breaststroke records too – a brave choice for someone not exactly known for their breaststroke. Really not known for it. Unfortunately, the pool had other plans. While getting out after his backstroke race, he managed to injure his shin and calf on the way, ending his day early.
In a very Masters‑meets‑health‑and‑safety twist, pool noodles were then added to the lane ropes to protect future swimmers from similar exits. The incident has been reported to Swim England, so watch this space for a thrilling future article on “How Not to Exit a Pool”.
Despite the radio invasions, scoreboard shenanigans, timing pad drama and slightly dangerous pool edges, one thing’s certain: we’ll be back next year. It was chaotic, entertaining, and pretty successful – just how we like it.
Sth East Masters – Crawley – January
Two of our more senior Masters took advantage of moving up into a new 5 Year age band to claim Long Course East Region Masters records. The seven strong squad returned home with 5 Gold 4 Silver and 4 Bronze medals. Over the two days they claimed 3 East Region 7 County and 9 Club records.
In the 70-74 years age group Graham Powell set new East and Beds Masters records whilst winning both his 50m Backstroke (36.68 seconds) and 50m Butterfly (35.34). Settling for the silver medal in his 200m Freestyle, Graham’s times at 50m (38:00), 100m (1:21.65) and 200m (2:50.33) broke the previous County and Club records set back in 2012.
Dave Wright demolished the East Region’s 65-69 years’ 200m Butterfly record from 2011 by 58 seconds to finish in a winning time of 3:05.76. That followed a Beds County record of 5:36.20 in his 400m Freestyle for which he claimed 3rd place.
Mark Lewis was just 0.26 seconds away from the 40-44 years’ 200m IM County record as he lowered his own 2025 Club record to 2:51.27 to claim a silver medal. That emulated Mark’s placing in his 100m Breaststroke whilst he also picked up a bronze for his 50m Backstroke.
Matt Wright was victorious in both of his 25- 29 years’ 50m and 100m Freestyle.
Sam Bradley claimed silver in the 30-34 years 800m Freestyle.
In the Ladies events Karen was placed 3rd in her 50-54 years’ 50m Backstroke, after recovering from stomach cramps during her 800m.
Michelle Neal’s “star appearances” at Inspire for pre-dawn long course training paid dividends. She picked up a bronze in her 45-49 years’ 200m Freestyle with her time of 2:47.55. Only problem is that it weakens any arguments for Michelle not leading her lane in future training sessions!