A TEAM of nine swimmers from the district have scooped an impressive haul of 10 medals between them.

The nine youngsters, all members of the Hexham-based Tynedale Swimming Club, excelled at the Northumberland and Durham County Swimming Championships.

Competing in different age groups, the 11 to 16 year olds participated in a total of 42 events, reaching no fewer than 30 finals.

Their haul included two golds, five silvers, and three bronze medals on an unforgettable day.

Of the 29 swimming clubs involved from across Northumberland and Durham, Tynedale finished in 13th place overall.

The individual achievements saw some of the youngsters qualify for the North-East Regional Championships, which will take place at Leeds and Sheffield in May.

Coach Mark Seymour said: “For a small club such as ours to finish in the top half of the table is a fantastic result.

“It was great to see some of our younger swimmers coming through and getting good qualification times which is an achievement in itself.

“All of them really stepped up and performed well at the championships, swimming personal best times (PBs) pretty much across the board.

“As a coach, you can’t ask for any more than that. We’re now working hard in training to get them ready for the North-East Regional Championships.”

Jamie Lonergan (11) swam in the 200m, 100m and 50m backstroke, and the 200m, 100m and 50m freestyle. He took silver in the 200 backcrawl with a time of 2m 49s, to qualify for the regionals.

Jamie’s twin sister Niamh qualified in the 50m and 100m backcrawl, and the 50m and 100m freestyle. She excelled in her heats to go through to the finals in all events and finished second in both the 50m and 100m backcrawl.

Gwen Mearns (12) was a qualifier in the 200m, 100m, 50m back, and 100m free, reaching the final in her 100m back event with a new PB.

Meghan Coldwell (14) achieved two PBs in her 50m fly and 50m free, before finishing 10th and eighth in the respective finals. She also achieved three regional qualifying times in the 50m fly, free and backstroke.

Ralph Robson (15) was fifth in the 800m freestyle, qualifying with a new PB.

Harry Courtney (15) took bronze in the 1,500m freestyle with a 40s PB. He also earned a bronze in the 100m backstroke and silver in the 200m freestyle, as he qualified for seven regional events.

In the 50m breaststroke, Christian Ryan (15) took joint gold, as well as silver in the 100m breaststroke, gold in the 200m breaststroke, and bronze in the 400m individual medley, to qualify for the regionals in four events. Dan Jones, one of the youngest swimmers in 16 years and over category, came away with a regional qualifying qualifying time in the 50m backstroke.