Matthew wins Bronze at the National Championships
From the 28th July to the 1st of August Rotherham Metro swimmer Matthew Sotheran competed in the National Age Group swimming championships meet at Ponds Forge. Matthew was Rotherham’s lone representative in this championship and he had qualified for several events, which is an outstanding achievement.
On day one of the championships Matthew finished eighth in the 100M backstroke heats thus gaining a place in the final to take place that evening. In the final Matthew managed to gain a PB and move up a place to 7th in a time of 01:05.06. On day two of the championships Matthew competed in three events, finishing 9th in the 200M Butterfly, 3rd in the 100M Freestyle and 7th in the 200IM gaining him a final spot in each event that evening. Three finals in one evening was a big ask and Matthew decided to pull out of the 200M Butterfly final and concentrate on the 100M Freestyle and 200IM final. In the 100 Freestyle final Matthew’s tactics paid off when he smashed his PB on the way to taking a well-deserved bronze medal in a time of 56.80. Matthew then competed in the final of the 200IM where he also swam to a new PB in a time of 02:24.47 finishing 8th after a very exhausting day.
On Day three of the championships after a very exciting and exhausting previous evening Matthew started with the 400M Freestyle finishing in 13th. Next up for Matthew was the 200M Backstroke where he once again produced another PB of 02:24.58 finishing 18th.
Day four saw Matthew competing in the 200M Free and he finished in a very credible 16th position, this was followed by the 100M Butterfly where he once again produced yet another PB to finish 15th in a time of 01:04.97.
On the final day of the championships Matthew was in the 400IM where he finished 16th, so overall he had an eventful and fruitful championships gaining many final spots and winning a national bronze medal.