b'THE ELLESMERIAN LEN Open Water Cup, Barcelona 2022James RawLeg 6 or the final leg for the LEN Open Water Cup was Barcelona, with Year 10 student athlete James Raw selected to represent Team167Great Britain in his first senior call up. Although the youngest competitor for the 10km event, James was ready to show the senior competitors hes no push over and one to watch out for. Lets not forget, this is Europes finest that our Year 10 Ellesmerian is competing against. Although the youngest in the field, James let the field set the pace over the marathon event, showing a mature head on his shoulders, sticking on their feet, and never losing sight. Coming into the final 200 metres, a strong finish from James secured a 19th place finish in the senior field in a time of 1:54:07.2.European Open Water Championships, Rome 2022Fleur LewisOn the final day of competition, fresh off the back of his Bronze Off the back of the pool event, the European Open Watermedal relay swim, Oscar swum in his second individual event of Championships were held in Rome with Ellesmerian Fleur Lewisthese championships, the 400m I.M. After a strong heat swim, picked for her second senior call up in as many months. touching just outside of his personal best, Oscar finished in 7th as fastest Briton and progressed onto the final later that day. Fleur competed in the 5km open water event, to then turn up the next day and compete in the 10-kilometre, a massive ask bothAfter a well-deserved break, Oscar was back for the 400m I.M final. physically and mentally.The competition was strong, with the talent littered across the 8 lanes. The first 200m was controlled, letting the field set the pace. First up, the 5km event. With this being the EuropeanOscar worked well on the third 100 metres and, with a fast finish, Championships, the field was stacked with the best open water had,touched the wall in 5th with a new personal best of 4:36.21, but Fleur was riding high from her 4th place finish at the LEN Cup inwrapping up a successful week in the pool and a Bronze medal for Serbia the previous month. The event was tough from start to finish;his troubles.with no breakaway pack the athletes struggled to make headway and the event became a little scrappy. Finally, Fleur managed to makeJake Hutchinson some movement towards the end of the race to finish a respectableThe first day of competition saw Jake compete in the 100m 17th place in a time of 59:58.3. Backstroke event. With a busy schedule ahead, this was a great opportunity to experience the international stage for the first time. A The following day, Fleur was back in action but this time in the 10kmstrong swim in the heat saw Jake finish just outside the semi-finals in event. The event proved to be similar from the previous day, a close18th. and tough contest with no clear water around the Ellesmerian. Fleur managed to finish in 21st position in a time of 2:13:30.1Day 2 and Jake was back in the pool, this time competing in the 100m Freestyle and 4 x 100m Mixed Freestyle Relay. Starting withEuropean Youth Olympic Festival, Slovakia 2022 the individual event, Jake swum under his personal best, in a time of There were also international debuts for Jake Hutchinson and Oscar52.57. Although he finished 14th, as he was the second fastest Briton Dodds in the 2021/22 season, who travelled with Team Great Britainhe subsequently didnt progress onto the semi-finals on this occasion. to Slovakia for the 2022 European Youth Olympic Festival. JakeHis next swim was the Mixed Freestyle Relay, where his time of Hutchinson qualified fastest in the 200m Freestyle and Oscar Dodds52.36 ensured the team progressed onto the final later that day in fastest in the 200m Backstroke at the British Trials in April, meaning5th position. they earnt their spots on Team Great Britain along with 14 others, to race the best in Europe in their age groups.Jakes first final came later that day, with the fastest male and female freestylers battling out in the Mixed Freestyle final. Team Great Britain Oscar Doddsfought well, with Jake splitting a 53.11 and the team finishing 7th.Oscars first race came on Day 3, swimming in the 200m Backstroke. A high-quality field and a strong performance in the heat meantDay 3 and another swim for Jake to prepare for, the 4 x 100m Mens Oscar finished in 7th place. Although finishing in a semi-final spot, theFreestyle Relay. The team swum well, with Jake offering a 52.37 split, rules of this particular competition are that only one athlete perwhich secured the team a 3rd place finish and a ticket into the final nation can progress onto the next stage of competition, with a fellowlater that day. team GB member touching Oscar to the wall in the heats. With Jakess second final of the competition, the team and Jake were The following day, Oscar was back in action in the 4 x 100m Mixedready. The Ellesmerian swum a fantastic leg in 52.31, his fastest race Medley Relay. He swum the Backstroke leg of the heat swim in ato date, and although the team finished in Bronze medal position time of 59.04, under his previous personal best. The team went on tothey were later disqualified for an early relay takeover from another finish in Bronze medal position in the final. athlete within the team. They used this as motivation with the best yet to come.'