Four athletes from the Utmost Wealth-sponsored Isle of Man Swimming Club shone at the Swim England Winter Nationals in Sheffield with a series of stellar performances recently.

Joel Watterson, Ella Justice and Harry Robinson produced some phenomenal performance, reaching finals, winning medals and breaking Manx records, while promising young talent Charlie Foster made an impressive debut at this prestigious event.

The opening day saw Watterson and Robinson take on the 50m butterfly, while Robinson also competed in the 100m individual medley (IM).

Setting the tone for a remarkable week, all three swimmers posted high-quality times, securing final qualifications and Island Games A consideration standards.

Watterson and Robinson both narrowly missed their personal bests in the 50m butterfly, qualifying for the A and B finals respectively. In the 100m IM, Robinson impressed with a time 2.2 seconds under the Island Games A standard.

In the finals, Robinson powered to a new Manx record of 23.94s, winning the B final, while Watterson matched his lifetime best of 24.02, equalling the previous Manx record and finishing ninth in the A final.

Robinson continued his impressive form with sixth in the 100m IM final. The training partnership between Watterson and Robinson, established since Robinson’s relocation to the island, is clearly yielding remarkable results.

Charlie Foster and Ella Justice also delivered strong performances for their schools. Foster, representing Royal Wolverhampton, competed in the junior 200m backstroke, clocking 2m 08.97s to achieve an Island Games A consideration time and a respectable 59th place.

Justice, swimming for Mount Kelly, reached the junior final of the 100m freestyle, finishing eighth with a time of 56.49.

Justice continued her superb form the following day in the 100m backstroke heats, where she shattered her own Manx record with 59.54, qualifying third fastest for the senior A final.

Watterson and Robinson took on the 50m backstroke, with Watterson posting a personal best of 25.54 to qualify for the B final. Robinson, the Manx record holder, produced an outstanding swim, dropping six-tenths off his previous best to clock 24.37, securing third place in the A final.

In the evening’s finals Robinson delivered another stellar swim, lowering his own record again to 24.16 and claiming the bronze medal. Justice also excelled, capturing silver in the 100m backstroke final.

Watterson’s strategic decision to withdraw from the 50m backstroke B final proved wise, as he stormed through the 50m freestyle heats the next morning, clocking 22.50 to secure a spot in the finals.

He went even faster in the B final, clocking 22.48 to finish a fantastic sixth. Justice continued to rewrite the record books in the 50m backstroke, qualifying for the A final in 27.69 where she claimed junior bronze and finished sixth overall.

The final day of competition was just as spectacular. Watterson and Robinson set new lifetime bests in the 100m freestyle heats, with Robinson clocking 49.33 and Watterson smashing the 49-second barrier with 48.88, setting yet another Manx record.

Both advanced to the B final where Watterson further lowered his record to 48.84, finishing second and placing 19th in the British rankings.

Justice added to the tally of records with a remarkable swim in the 200m backstroke, dropping her own mark from 2:14.4 to 2:11.6 in the heats, before reducing it again to 2:10.4 in the final to take junior bronze and seventh overall.

The super talented trio of Robinson, Watterson and Justice were truly impressive all week, producing 11 Manx record-breaking swims, 11 national finals, four medals and multiple top-25 British rankings.

Added to this, Charlie Foster’s strong nationals debut, including an Island Games A consideration standard, made for a hugely successful event for the Isle of Man Swimming Club swimmers.

VANESSA CHRISTIAN