Host of summer successes
Martyna Ruszkowska and Zach Speakman competed against some of the most gifted swimmers in the country at the British Summer Championships, which were held in Sheffield.
The duo gave a good account of themselves in the face of some stern competition, with both enhancing their growing reputations throughout the competition.
Welsh international Martyna, aged 16, competed in three individual races in addition to a pair of relays as part of the Swim Gwynedd team.
She managed to secure sixth spot in the 50 metre Butterfly despite injury hampering her preparations, and also finished seventh in the 100m event in the same discipline.
There was another final berth to celebrate as the 4x100m medley team from Swim Gwynedd made it to the final round, although they narrowly missed out on a medal.
Fourteen-year-old sports scholar Zach was taking part in his first ever British Championships after a standout season which has seen him surge up the UK rankings, and he produced a time of four minutes, 51 seconds in the 400M individual medley representing Nofio Clwyd.
Teddy Roberts ended a period of eight months out of the water with a series of strong efforts at the Welsh Summer National Championships.
The scholar narrowly missed out on a medal in the 100 metre freestyle on day one despite being ranked in ninth, with the sports scholar reaching the final and achieving a fourth place finish with a time of 58:05.
There was further success in the 100m butterfly event, where he produced another sensational effort to beat the odds and claim a silver medal with a time of one minute and five seconds.
This sensational effort propelled the Swim Conwy star back to number one in the national 100m butterfly rankings in his age group, and he has also moved up to third in the 100m freestyle rankings.
Mr Ruszkowski, said: “Teddy has not missed a step despite having a short break from competitive swimming, and it is great to see all his hard work during training has paid off with a medal. To get back to the top of the national rankings in such a short space of time just demonstrates the immense talent he has, and if he continues to work hard then the sky really is the limit in terms of what he can achieve.
“Hopefully this event will be a stepping stone to great things in the future and we will endeavour to ensure that Teddy reaches his potential.”
A host of new faces will be part of our rugby squad for their first pre-season competition.
The school’s first XV travel to King’s School Macclesfield on Saturday, September 2 for an U18 tournament to kick-off their campaign ahead of a busy series of fixtures.
The competition will be played in a festival format and will see us come up against Reed’s School, Solihull School, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Wakefield and Kirkham Grammar School.
A strong squad will feature a number of new arrivals, which include outside back and Sale Sharks Academy prospect Tom Roebuck, who recently scored a hat-trick for their U18 side against London Irish at the Regional Academies Festival.
Wales U16 Rugby League star Will Lynch is another exciting talent to join the ranks, while Harry Pulford is another addition after arriving from St David’s College.
Joe Morrow is a Chester U17 representative and will also be part of the set-up, while big things are also expected of Pwllheli standout Jan Lotter, who rounds off the new contingent of players.
Mr Boyd, said: “We are delighted that these five players have decided to join our programme here at Rydal Penrhos, and we look forward to watching them develop under the guidance of our coaches and Strength and Conditioning team.
“All of them have enormous potential both in sporting and academic terms, and hopefully they can get off on the right foot this weekend at our first competition of the season.”