Nationals are coming to Southampton!
Southampton Diving Academy took on Europe at the Aachen Talent Cup and came out at the top of the medal table!
National teams from across Europe were entered for the event, but the team from GB was made up solely of members of SDA's Junior Elite Squad, who train at the Quays Swimming and Diving Complex.
All eight of the group who competed took at least one medal, and in the closing ceremony they were congratulated on their performance, discipline and behaviour. Together they scooped 5 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze medals.
In every event entered the team took at least one medal, and despite having no Group C Boys in the squad SDA was still well ahead of the rest of the crowd in the medal table.
Highest achiever on the team was twelve year old Georgie Wingrove, who took a medal in every one of her 4 events. Her top score was on 3m springboard, where she gained the gold medal with 278.20 points. Diving consistently well throughout the event she took the lead after her first dive – and stayed there for the whole course. In 3m synchro she took silver with partner, Ellie Fleming, also aged 12. She also took silver medals on 1m springboard and platform.
Georgie Wingrove collects her gold medal
Lewys Oakley (9) took the gold on platform, bronze medals on 3m both individually and with partner, Alastair Khakoo (10) in the synchro event and made 5th place on the 1m board. In the platform event Lewys' tariff was higher than any other diver in the event and having executed them with great aplomb he finished well ahead of the rest of the field.
Partner, Alastair, also took a gold medal on 1m springboard, where he finished almost 50 points ahead of the rest of the field with a score of 229.50. His performance was outstanding, putting every dive in at a consistently high standard. He was unlucky on platform where he was lying in second position when he caught his feet on the board on his last dive leaving him with a 5th position. The injury also led to his withdrawal from the 3m event.
In girls' group D Chloe Pook (10) picked up the gold on 3m and 5th places on both 1m and platform. Despite a shaky start to her 3m event Chloe fought back and put in especially skilful dives on her last two attempts, attracting scores including 7's from the judges.
The next age group up, group C, saw Rachel Holland (13) score gold on platform, with 8th and 9th on 1m and 3m springboards respectively. To take her gold Rachel dived consistently well throughout the event, with team mate, Georgie Wingrove close on her heels. Going in to the last dive both were performing an inward 2 ½ somersault with tuck from 7.5m, but Rachel's steady nerve came through as she nailed the dive convincingly to secure the top slot.
Coach, Charly Tomkys, was thrilled with the results. "This was an awesome achievement," she enthused. "For one club to be able take on national teams from across Europe and come away so far ahead in the medals table is a real triumph. I was really proud of the whole team, not only for the results, but also for the way they conducted themselves and supported one another."
The divers are now preparing for their next outing to Leeds in April where they will pit themselves against top diving clubs from across Great Britain.
Full results:
1m Springboard
Portia Angove, 11th; Chloe Pook, 5th; Sarah White, bronze; Alastair Khakoo, gold; Lewys Oakley, 5th; Ellie Fleming, bronze; Rachel Holland, 8th; Georgie Wingrove, silver
3m Springboard
Portia Angove, 8th; Chloe Pook, gold; Sarah White, silver; Lewys Oakley, bronze; Ellie Fleming, 12th; Rachel Holland, 9th; Georgie Wingrove, gold
Platform
Portia Angove, bronze; Chloe Pook, 5th; Sarah White, silver; Alastair Khakoo, 5th; Lewys Oakley, gold; Rachel Holland, gold; Georgie Wingrove, silver
3m Synchro
Alastair Khakoo & Lewys Oakley, bronze; Ellie Fleming & Georgie Wingrove, silver