b'THE ELLESMERIAN The penultimate day, Jake was again back in action in theOn the final day of competition, Andrew swum in the 400m 200m Freestyle. A strong first 100m saw Jake finish justfreestyle. A strong second 200m from Andrew saw an exciting finish outside of his personal best and the semi-finals. This fuelledto the heat, touching just outside of his personal best as the third 168 Jake for his final day in Slovakia.fastest Briton at the competition in a time of 4:03.40.The final day of the five-day event saw Jake up again to race,George Smith despite having already swum each day of the competition. This time,Having previously experienced the competition last season, George he swum in the 4 x 100m Mens Medley Relay. Swimming theknew what lay ahead this week. Starting on Day 2 with the 200m Freestyle leg, Jake saved his best until last, splitting a 52.15 ensuringIndividual Medley and brushing off the cobwebs with a strong heat the team progressed onto the final in pole position. The team laterswim, George swum just under his personal best to qualify 4th into won the event, and Jake was presented with a Gold medal.the semi-finals, and fastest Briton. Returning later that day, George swum a focused race to not only take over a second off his personal We cannot wait to see what the future has in store for thesebest but also to qualify for the 200m Individual Medley final. talented student athletes and look forward to their continued success within the Swimming Academy over the coming seasons. Georges second day of competition started with the 200m Breaststroke, entering the event 9th fastest, George swum a quality heat swim to qualify in pole position for the semi-finals later that day. Commonwealth Games, Birmingham 2022A busy evening session meant George had to complete the 200m Isaac DoddsIndividual Medley final and 200m Breaststroke semi-final.Representing Jersey, Isaacs first senior call up was a big one: the Commonwealth games in Birmingham. Brushing shoulders in theFirst up, the 200m Individual Medley final, a packed field of Europes athlete village and pool with the Commonwealths finest was anfinest medley athletes. George swum a tactically strong race, with the experience the Ellesmerian was looking forward to.fastest breaststroke leg in the pool, but was touched out at the finish into 6th place. George had to remain composed as the 200m Isaac competed in six individual events and two relays for Jersey overBreaststroke semi-final was 39 minutes later; he remained focused the course of the week. With a stacked programme, Isaac achievedand swum himself into the final in another lifetime best.lifetime bests in the 1500m Freestyle in a time of 16:21.80 and the 400m Individual Medley in a time of 4:29.70. In the same event, IsaacThe final day for George was the 200m Breaststroke final. Following narrowly missed qualification for the 400m Individual Medley finaloutstanding performances in the preliminary rounds and the 200m finishing as first reserve. Individual Medley, George was focused and looking in good shape for the final. Starting the race well, George let the field set the pace. Competing in the very last mens event of the pool schedule, IsaacTurning at the halfway mark in 5th position, George was perfectly swum the Butterfly leg of the 4 x 100m Medley Relay for Jersey. Inpositioned for his obligatory strong second half. George came back his first senior final, Isaac and his team swum four strong legs of theon the 2nd 100m in an astonishing 1.09.15, finishing the race in 3rd race, Isaac splitting a 56.50 in the fly, with the team finishing 5th at theposition in a time of 2:13.79, taking over two seconds off his original Commonwealth Games final in a time of 3:49.71.entry time. George left the championships with two new personal best timesEuropean Junior Swimming Championships,2:02.93 in the Individual Medley and 2:13.79 in the Breaststrokeas Romania 2022 well as being European Junior Bronze medallist. The European Junior Swimming Championships brings the best Europe has to offer aged 18 and below (female 17 and below).Good Luck Ellesmerians With passports stamped back in April, both Andrew Bertoli andAs with any season, the curtain comes down on those finishing their George Smith had been working hard in the training pool to ensureUpper Sixth education at Ellesmere College. This season, we say they gave themselves the best opportunity in Romania. Andrew wasgoodbye to the following Ellesmerians: going into the event as a first timer, and George, having previously -Andrew Bertoliswum at the championships in Rome last season, was hungry for -Isaac Dodds international success.-Isaac Hall-Olivia Herron The championships were across 6 days, with both swimming -Fleur Lewis throughout the competition in various events.-Lola Oke-Alex Rosser-Barnett Andrew Bertoli -George Smith Swimming first and last day of any competition is never an easy task, -Mya Watt but Andrew was certainly up for the challenge. Starting with his favoured 200m Butterfly on Day 1 and entering the competition inHaving been a massive part of the Swimming Academy over several 24th place, Andrew swum a tactically outstanding race to qualify 12thyears, we say a huge thank you for your support, and good luck in going into the semi-finals later that day, a huge step up and alsoyour new journeys. We hope to see you poolside over the coming qualifying as fastest Briton. Following the heat swim, and althoughseasons. inside his entry time and again executing a well-swum race, Andrew finished just outside the finals spot, leaving the competition with a new personal best of 2:02.52.'