Josh swims for county

13-year-old swimmer Josh Thompson represented Lancashire for the first time recently at the British Gas National County Team Championships held at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Josh, who is a third year pupil at LRGS, came second in the 100m Breaststroke and the Medley Relay team came first, giving Josh two excellent personal bests and a National Qualifying Time.  

No fewer than 39 English counties and Welsh and Scottish regions took part, with Lancashire defending the Division 1 title.  The competition is run in two divisions with the top division 1 containing 20 teams. The 50m pool at Sheffield is split into 2 short course pools and the two divisions compete at the same time with staggered starts.

The country’s top swimmers were out in force, but they were no match for mighty Lancashire who left the other division 1 teams trailing in their wake. Even the closest teams, Yorkshire, Middlesex, and Northumberland and Durham, were over 128 points behind. This is the 10th consecutive win for Lancashire, but was by an unprecedented margin.