Counties 2026 - The Individuals
Across three busy weekends of racing at Harvey Hadden, Mansfield produced one of its strongest all round County Championship performances in recent years. With swimmers competing from 9 years old, the squad delivered a blend of medals, breakthrough swims, personal bests, finals appearances and club records that highlight both the depth and the direction of the club.
Across the Championships, dressed in hot pink, Mansfield swimmers produced over two hundred personal bests. Every athlete contributed either a PB, a finals place or a strong placing in the heat declared winner (HDW) events, and the team spirit across all age groups was a standout feature of the weekends.
Weekend One
The opening weekend saw 31 swimmers take on 94 swims, producing an impressive 78 PBs. MSC swimmers left the first block of competition with six golds, six silvers and a bronze.
This weekend featured multiple age group winners, including Amelia who took gold in the 50 Breast, Katy grabbing bronze in the 50 breast and Layla who secured silver in both the 50 Breast and 200 Breast. Lewes with a dominating gold in the 100 back and silver in the 50 free. Harry delivered a strong silver in the 200 Fly, while Georgia collected silver medals in both the 200 Free and 50 Free.
Fox began what turned into an extraordinary County campaign, taking gold in 200 Free, 200 Breast, 100 Fly and 50 Free. Her consistency across strokes and distances set the tone for the rest of her Championships.
The weekend also included the gruelling 400IM which saw Zara, Liam and Harry finish 4th, Layla 7th and Evie 9th.
Across the finals and top eight HDWs, Mansfield were strongly represented, with appearances from Isla and Noah, Max, Liam, Sope, Lily, Victoria and Zara.
Weekend Two
Weekend Two was the busiest of the Championships for the club, with 134 swims and a remarkable 105 PBs. Mansfield added another eight golds and five silvers to the growing medal tally.
Fox continued her superb form, adding wins in the 100 Breast, 200 Back, 400 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back and 100 Back. Lewes smashed a gold in the 50 Back and silver in the 50 Fly, while Zara delivered a dominant win in the 200 Fly. Isla secured a silver in the 800 Free, and Layla bagged another silver in the 100 Breast. Matilda won silver in the 50 Fly and 50 Back multi classification events on her long course debut!
Finals and top eight HDW placings remained consistently strong, with swimmers appearing across all strokes and age groups. In addition to our medallists we had Georgia, Noah, Lily, Liam, Sope, Rhianna, Evie, Max, Amelia, Harry, Nyla, Jess and Kiera.
This weekend also produced a wave of new long‑course club records. Fox broke long standing 10 year records in the 200 Back, 400 Free, 50 Fly, 50 Back and 100 Back. Georgia added three records of her own across the 100 Breast, 50 Back and 100 Back for the 13‑year girls, another terrific benchmark of her continued development.
Weekend Three
The final weekend brought a smaller but high quality programme with 31 swims and 25 PBs. Mansfield added two more gold medals and a bronze.
The morning session saw Zara secure a hard fought bronze in the 1500 Free, continuing her excellent form in the distance events.
Fox claimed her last two county golds by winning the 100 Free and the 200 IM. Fox added two more club records to her tally with these swims.
The 100 Free finals were packed with Mansfield swimmers. Georgia placed fourth in the 14‑year age group, Layla finished fifth in the 12s, Harry and Max sixth and Isla and Noah both secured top eight places in their age groups.
Our finishing places in the 200 IM also reflected the squad’s balance, with Harry, Isla, Noah, Liam, Layla, Sophie, Evie all placing inside the top twelve.
Category (CATs) Achievements
The CATs rankings offer a rounded view of a swimmer’s versatility, combining sprint, form, distance, 100‑metre and medley performances. Mansfield had several top ten finishers across the age groups.
Girls 10/11s : Fox won the overall title, Lily placing seventh.
Boys 12s : Harry finished seventh and Noah eighth.
Girls 12s : Layla secured sixth and Evie‑Mae finished ninth.
Girls 14s : Georgia secured ninth.
Boys 15s : Liam finish sixth and Sope ninth.
Girls 15s : Isla placed eighth.
Huge well done to all!
The 2026 County Championships showed the strength of MSC’s pathway across all ages and strokes. Medals came from the youngest age groups right through to the seniors, while finals, PBs, HDW placings and record‑breaking moments were spread throughout the squad.
Most importantly, the performances reflected excellent preparation, teamwork and a supportive team culture. Every swimmer contributed to the success of the Championships, whether through PBs, placings, relay support or simply learning from the experience of long‑course racing.
Well done all! 💙💛
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