2016 Bergen Open – Norway
Southampton Diving Academy capitalised on their recent successes in domestic competition when they headed to the snowy North of Europe to compete in the 2016 Bergen Open, Norway. The beautiful town of Bergen is a World Heritage site and hosts this annual international club event in the fantastic AdO Arena, overlooking the fjords. The 10 strong team of Southampton divers and 2 coaches were clearly inspired by the surroundings and came home with a huge haul of medals.
Under the watchful eyes of coaches Lindsey Fraser and Sam Hydes, Emily Martin, fresh back from a long break due to injury, was on superb form, taking all 4 gold medals in the Girls 14/15 years 1m, 3m, Platform and 3m Synchro events. Her golden partner for the Synchro, Tanya Watson, also took 2 silvers for herself on the 3m and Platform. In Girls 12/13 years, Evie Johnson faced some tough opposition but fought hard and brought home a bronze on the 3m.
Not to be outshone by the girls, the SDA boys were all in fighting mood. Taking a 1-2-3 on the Platform for Boys 14/15 years were Brandon Foster (gold), Thomas Bailey (silver) and Cameron Gammage (bronze) who simply dominated the field. The 4th place diver was almost 40 points behind Gammage.
However, not content with one gold, Foster went on to take gold in the 1m and silver in the 3m, with a second silver coming in the 3m Synchro with his partner Gammage, against a Swiss pairing who went onto compete in the European Championships up in London in May.
Bailey also took home a bronze on the 3m with a solid performance against some tough opponents.
The 2 youngest SDA divers were not content to sit by and cheer their team mates on, and in Boys 12/13 Ethan Bennett came home with golds on both the Platform and 3m and a bronze on the 1m with PB scores all round. Milo French at just 10 years of age was in hot pursuit of his team mate, taking silvers on the Platform and 3m, again with PB scores in both events.
Results
Girls 12/13 Years
Evelyna Johnson: 1m 8th, 3m 3rd, Platform 4th
Boys 12/13 Years
Ethan Bennett: 1m 3rd, 3m 1st, Platform 1st, 3m Synchro 5th
Milo French: 1m 7th, 3m 2nd, Platform 2nd, 3m Synchro 5th
Girls 14/15 Years
Jessica Bennett : 1m 10th, 3m 13th, Platform 12th
Emily Martin : 1m 1st, 3m 1st, Platform 1st, 3m Synchro 1st
Serena Torpey : 1m 19th, 3m 11th
Tanya Watson: 1m 4th, 3m 2nd, Platform 2nd, 3m Syncrho 1st
Boys 14/15 Years
Thomas Bailey: 1m 5th, 3m 3rd, Platform 2nd
Brandon Foster: 1m 1st, 3m 2nd, Platform 1st, 3m Synchro 2nd
Cameron Gammage: 1m 6th, 3m 4th, Platform 3rd, 3m Synchro 2nd