Swimmer Bentley motors to three golds

NINE members of the Mid Beds Swim Squad spent the last two weekends competing against the best swimmers in the East of England in the British Gas ASA East Region BAGCAT (Age Group) Championships in Norwich.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Jun 2011, 10:46 BST

Luton’s Nathan Bentley, 12, showed the progress he has made since joining Mid Beds a year ago, by being crowned the 2011 BAGCAT Champion as the top 12-year-old boy.

The youngster won the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle and went under a minute for the first time in the 100m final, finishing with a time of 59.93secs.

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Bentley, who attends Stopsley High School, finished in the top three in all of his events, as he came second in the 100m, 200m backstroke, 200m and 400m individual medley (IM) and third in the 100m butterfly.

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Mid Beds head coach Caroline Sale said: “Nathan’s 100m freestyle swim is the third fastest in the country by a 12-year-old this year.

“Unfortunately, for him, he will be 13 soon and so will miss out on Nationals this year.”

Fellow Lutonian and Stopsley High School pupil, Joe Murray, 11, finished fifth in the boy’s 11-year-old BAGCAT competition and returned home with two gold medals and a silver.

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Murray won the 100m and 200m breaststroke, finished second in the 200m IM, before coming fourth in the 400m IM, fifth in the 100m freestyle and 13th in the 200m freestyle.

Brandon Nabarro, also from Luton, came sixth in the boy’s 14-year-old BAGCAT competition and made the final in seven of eight events.

He won bronze in the 200m IM, finished sixth in the 400m IM and 100m butterfly, seventh in the 100m breaststroke and eighth in the 100m backstroke, 100m and 200m freestyle.

Bentley and Nabarro also joined forces with Benjamin Horner and Huw Jones to swim the boys 11-14 years 4x100m freestyle and medley, finishing seventh in both events.

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Despite missing two key members of the squad due to illness and injury, Mid Beds still came fifth in the medals table, with seven gold, five silver and three bronze, finishing ahead of many bigger clubs, including City of Peterborough.

Sale added: “For such a small squad to finish in fifth place is an exceptional performance.

“Our swimmers worked incredibly hard this year and their dedication and commitment has paid off. I am very proud of them all.”

Related topics:East of England