Swimmers claim haul of medals in Cardiff
A host of our talented swimmers came away with medals from this year’s Urdd National Gala.
Following their success at the regional heats last November, the group descended on South Wales for the event, which took place on Sunday, January 24 at the Wales National Swimming Pool, Cardiff.
There were a number of impressive performances from the team throughout the gala, with Swim Wales international Martyna Ruszkowska adding to her impressive medal collection with a double gold effort.
The 14 year-old claimed the 100m butterfly in fine style, before also taking home gold in the 200m individual medley.
There was further gold medal success when Zach Speakman won the 200m individual medley, and he narrowly missed out on a double of his own by finishing second in the 100m butterfly.
Teddy Roberts had a bronze medal to show for his efforts with a third placed finish in the 100m freestyle, while Tom Cuddihy finished just outside the medals with fourth placed finishes in both the 100m backstroke and butterfly.
A pair of medals were also gained in the relay events, with Adam Lee-Browne, Mason Clarke, Rafeez Martusa and Finlay Hare finishing third in the Year 9/10 medley relay.
Another bronze was secured in the Year 7/8 mixed relay with Roberts, Speakman, Lily Rose-Leong and Bella Rutherford achieving third place.
Mr Ruszkowski, said: “It was a marvellous effort and all swimmers are to be congratulated for their performances.
“Martyna proved once again why she is one of the best swimmers in the country, and Zach also produced an incredible effort to achieve gold.
“All of the team prepared superbly for this event and it showed with their overall results and I am absolutely delighted with the amount of medals we managed to bring home.”