Counties 2026 - The Relays
The County Relay Championships are a celebration of team spirit and Mansfield arrived determined to make Harvey Hadden feel like home. The hot pink shirts were everywhere and they were joined by Hawaiian shirts, tutus, sunglasses, pom poms, clappers, wigs, painted eyebrows, novelty moustaches and temporary tattoos. The balcony soundtrack never stopped. Voices, horns and applause rolled from the first event to the last.
Morning session - Mixed relays and fast starts
The day opened with the mixed freestyle relays and an excellent statement from the 12 and under A team. Fox, Layla, Harry and Noah raced to third in the heats and booked their lane for the final with every swimmer clocking in under 35 seconds. The 12 and under B team of Jack, Evie, Lyra and Albert produced a gutsy 2:33. Albert stepped in late straight after his under 10s swim which summed up the squad’s step up and help mindset.
In the 14 and under mixed freestyle our squads of Georgia, Max, Zara and Jacob and then Nyla, Evie, Max and Will finished 14th and 21st. Takeovers tightened as the races went on and the back halves were paced well. The 16 and under group saw Isla, Jess, Isaac and Sope place 11th while Liam, Evie, Max and Chloe came 19th. Isaac, Sope and Liam all dipped under 30 seconds and Max bounced up from the 14s to put in another shift. In the 17 and over mixed freestyle Lewis, Kiera, Lewes and Katy finished ninth and narrowly missed the final by one place. The second 17s team paired Poppy and Maddy with Liam and Isaac who were fresh from their 16s swims and they all swam strongly throughout.
The mixed medleys brought the stroke specialists to the fore. Our youngest team of Albert, Carey, Lily and Clarke posted a superb ninth with clean changes and fast finishes. The 12s A locked in another final with third in the heats with Fox on backstroke, Layla on breaststroke, Harry on fly and Noah on free. The 12s B of Lyra, Evie and Jack welcomed Carey on breaststroke. He bettered his earlier split when swimming up which was a brilliant response to the occasion.
In the 14s the teams of Georgia, Zara, Max and Jacob followed by Nyla, Max, Evie and Will produced strong legs across both races. Evie again bettered her own age group split when asked to swim up. The 16s kept momentum with Jess, Sope, Isaac and Isla placing 10th and Evie, Liam, Chloe and Max combining well in the second team. The 17 and over medleys wrapped up the morning heats with Kiera, Lewis, Lewes and Katy clocking 2.08 for 11th and Poppy, Sope, Isaac and Maddy posting 2.15 for 18th.
The morning finals delivered a superb double podium for the under 12s. In the mixed freestyle final Fox, Layla, Harry and Noah found another gear. All four beat their heat splits and dropped a full second to a total 2:12 and took bronze. They were even sharper in the mixed medley final! The time moved from 2:29 in the heats to 2:26 in the final and they claimed another bronze. Two finals and two medals and two clinical relay swims under pressure.
Afternoon session - Girls and boys relays, more finals and more medals!
New faces joined the pink wave as the programme switched to the girls and boys events and the balcony noise rose again.
The 9 and 10 girls freestyle opened with an excellent team effort from Lily, Clarke, Ivy and Poppy who qualified fifth for their final. For swimmers new to long course racing four sub 50 legs was a superb statement.
In the 12 girls freestyle Layla, Evie, Lyra and Fox finished fourth to book their place in the final. Sophie, Hester, Amelia and Harriet were 15th with a set of encouraging splits that will only grow with experience. The 12 boys medley saw Jack, Harry, Noah and Sid step up and storm to third in the heats. Sid had come in at 24 hours notice and slotted in perfectly. The 14 girls freestyle added another finals lane. Georgia, Zara and Nyla were joined by Fox who swam up two age groups and the quartet placed sixth. The 14 boys medley had a disqualification which happens on relay day. The important part was the response which was positive and focused on supporting the next teams on the blocks.
Across the 16 girls freestyle Isla, Jess, Evie, Trinity, Elise, Charlotte and Chloe spread Mansfield’s depth across two relays with tidy swims. The 16 boys medley then booked a sixth place finals slot for Liam, Sope and Isaac who were joined again by Max stepping up from the 14s.
The 17 and over relays moved to 4 x 100m. Katy, Kiera, Poppy and Maddy swam a composed women’s freestyle for ninth and just missed the final. The men’s medley quartet of Lewes, Lewis, Isaac and Liam posted a strong 4:38.
A second wave of heats brought even more progress. The 9 and 10 girls medley of Clarke on backstroke, Ivy on breaststroke, Lily on fly and Poppy on free made their second final of the day. The 12 girls medley teams finished fourth and 13th. Lyra, Layla, Fox and Evie formed the first team. Harriet, Amelia, Sophie and Hester worked brilliantly together in the second. The 12 boys freestyle team of Harry, Noah, Jack and Sid placed fourth to reach another final. In the 14 girls freestyle Layla joined Georgia, Zara and Nyla to take sixth and another finals lane. The 16 girls medley squads delivered committed swims for 11th and 19th. Evie, Isla, a promoted Zara and Jess raced in the first team while Elise, Trinity, Chloe and Charlotte made up the second. The 17 and over 4 x100m medleys rounded out the heats. Kiera, Maddy, Katy and Poppy finished 10th in the women’s race and the men matched it with Lewes, Lewis, Sope and Liam.
Finals closed the Championships with Mansfield racing in ten afternoon finals. That is an improvement on last year and a clear sign of growing depth.
The 9 and 10 girls freestyle final came first. Clarke, Ivy, Lily and Poppy finished fifth and reinforced their strong qualifying swim.
The 12 girls medley final brought a superb team performance. Layla, Evie, Lyra and Fox dropped from 3:18 to 3:15 and climbed from fourth to the bronze medal position. All four swam faster than their heat splits which is remarkable this late in the weekend.
The 12 boys medley final matched that momentum. Harry, Noah, Jack and Sid held their third from the heats and took bronze and cut their time from 2:46 to 2:43.
The 14 girls freestyle final saw Georgia, Zara, Nyla and Fox improve from sixth to fifth with another team time drop.
The 16 boys medley final followed the same pattern. Liam, Sope, Isaac and Max improved from sixth to fifth with a tighter collective effort.
Those squads then returned for the last set of finals.
The 10 and under girls medley final delivered sixth place for Clarke, Ivy, Lily and Poppy who matched their heat position and lowered their time.
The 12 girls freestyle final brought another Mansfield medal. Lyra, Layla, Fox and Evie each dropped time and took bronze with a total improvement of more than three seconds.
The 12 boys freestyle final kept the podium run going. Harry, Noah, Jack and Sid moved from fourth to third and took bronze with a near three second drop.
The 14 girls medley final saw Georgia, Layla, Zara and Nyla move from sixth to fifth with another time improvement.
The 16 boys freestyle final brought the curtain down on the Championships. Liam, Sope, Isaac and Max finished sixth and delivered one more strong performance after a long day of back to back swims.
💙 A club performance to be proud of 💛
The thread through the whole day was the same. Swimmers stepped up for each other. Younger athletes swam up and delivered. Seniors set the tone. Everyone fed off the balcony noise. The medals tell part of the story with two in the morning for the 12s mixed team and four more in the afternoon for the 12s girls and boys. The finals and the time drops tell the rest. So does the way each age group backed the next.
From the first horn blast to the final touch Mansfield looked united and sounded united. The colour and the laughter and the noise were unmistakably ours and the swims matched it. This was a relay day to remember.
Thank you to Barry and Grahame
The relays also marked an emotional moment for the club as we said thank you to Barry and Grahame, who were poolside for their final County Championships. Their years of service have shaped not only the standards we race to but also the values we race with. Countless swimmers have benefited from their guidance, encouragement and belief. We are deeply grateful for the time, the energy and the heart they have given to Mansfield.
We would also like to thank everyone who coached, team managed and volunteered throughout the Championships. From organising swimmers on poolside, to keeping squads calm and ready, to supporting parents and making sure every child felt part of something special, the relays simply could not happen without that dedication. This Championships was a team effort in every sense and we are thankful for every person who played their part.