A NEW record was set at the Henley Swimathon which took place at the town’s leisure centre on Saturday.
A total of 141 swimmers in 24 teams swam 1,926 lengths in 40-minute sessions to raise money for their chosen charity or cause and the Henley Lions Club.
Team Fast and Furious, comprising Gillotts School pupils, were cheered by friends and family behind a glass screen as the final 10 second countdown started.
Henry McLean, 13, Fred Hydem 12, Joshua Drummond, 12, Joe Gilbert, 14, and Alexander Lamacraft, 15, from Henley Junior Triathlon Club, swam 128 lengths, breaking their record set last year by 19 lengths.
Joshua said: “We were aiming for 120 lengths then when we saw our score with six minutes to go, we thought we weren’t going to do it, but we did it. It’s surprising but we really enjoyed it. If we didn’t get past 120 lengths, we were going to forfeit and all run a 5km after this.”
To celebrate, they played a game of squash.
During the race, Catherine Drummond, Joshua’s mum, said: “They probably did the highest last year and they’re trying to beat their target. They are on 98 and they have got nine minutes left.
“They are really going for it as they were aiming for 120 as their goal. We said to them if they didn’t get their target, they would have to do 20 press-ups and pay the sponsorship, so they would be really motivated.”
Marine Machines, also featuring Gillotts pupils, swam 109 lengths while Mrs Lock’s Legends, comprising pupils at Valley Road Primary School, swam 108 lengths.
Sebastian Sheldon, 11, in Year 6, a member of Mrs Lock’s Legends, said: “This is my third Swimathon for Valley Road and Melia, Lily and I have been in the team for three years and we got better each year. This year we also had Taba, Josh and Alex, we were really pleased to get over a hundred lengths and we were only one length off the all-time Year 6 record! It’s a fun event with a good atmosphere.”
Other schools to take part were Nettlebed Community School as well as Shiplake, Trinity and Peppard primaries.
Pupils from Trinity primary swam the highest number of lengths overall, recording 452.
Six teams took part, including Terrific Turtles, Wonderful Whales, Smiley Sharks, Dizzy Dolphins, Fancy Fish and Super Seahorses.
Michela Evans, who works with Year 5 and 6 children at Trinity Primary School, said: “The children swam so well on Saturday, and they have raised over £1,000 which will be split between Trinity Primary School and the Henley Lions Club. It was an exciting afternoon with our children swimming between 50 and 89 lengths.”
Valley Road Primary School swam a total of 419 lengths. Five teams took part, including Bubble Blasters, The Twours, Mrs Locks Legends, Dolphins, and Barracudas.
Gillotts School swam a total of 400 lengths. Four teams took part — they were Fast and Furious, Aqua Legends, Hydro Hunters and Marine Machines.
Shiplake Primary School swam a total of 314 lengths. Four teams took part, including Ice Cold Otters, Lightning Bolts, Dangerous Ducks and the Very Hungry Caterpillars.
Nettlebed Community School swam a total of 144 lengths. Two teams took part — the Olympic Otters and the Nettlebed Stingers.
Peppard Primary School’s two teams, Panthers and Rookies, swam a total of 142 lengths.
South Oxon Mencap also had a team of six members from the Meteor Club who swam a total of 55 lengths.
Wendy Franklin, the president of Henley Lions, said: “What an amazing afternoon we had. Thank you to all the swimmers for taking part, to all the organizers and teachers for encouraging the swimmers to participate, and to all the parents, family and friends, without your support, we wouldn’t have an event.”
At time of the Standard going to press the Henley Lions were still calculating the total amount raised by the Swimathon.
