Amelie Blocksidge stars whilst Portsmouth Northsea duo both win gold

Amelie Blocksidge ended her incredible 2023/24 season on a high with gold at the GoCardless Swim England Open Water National Age Group Championships 2024.

She put in one of the standout performances on an afternoon of exciting swimming in Sheffield where Portsmouth Northsea’s duo of Darcey Smith and Makar Yakhno both won gold as well as Maidenhead Marlins swimmer Lucas Bryant.

After claiming the junior British distance titles at the Aquatics GB Championships earlier this week to add to her 1500m British senior crown, Blocksidge returned to the open water to add to her ever growing medal collection.

She cruised to victory in the Female 15 years race in 01:02:30, a staggering four minutes 38 seconds ahead of nearest challenger, Evelyn Hallissey.

And the European Junior Champion admitted that she was ‘pretty happy’ with her performance at Rother Valley.

“I was pretty confident, but I tried to focus on my spotting, because that’s my weakness,” she said.

Today I think I was good at that, so that’s why I think I did so well.”

Newcastle’s Hallissey put on an impressive display of her own to touch the finish line in second position.

Her effort of 1:07.08 stopped a City of Salford one-two finish as she held off Jessica Corder in the race for second position.

Those two were close all the way to the line with Hallissey coming out on top by just 12 seconds in the end.

But it was Blocksidge who came out on top, who admitted that she feels that she’s achieved more than she thought she would in 2023/2024 and said she was “really happy to end the season off on a high.”

Portsmouth Northsea at the double

Portsmouth Northsea continued their impressive form at the Championships with both Darcey Smith and Makar Yakhno coming away with gold medals.

It added to both of their 2km titles at last year’s competition and the clubs three silvers in the 7.5km races in the opening session as they continue to excel in the open water.

Dacey Smith impressed, finishing just over a minute ahead of the field with a time of 1:06:05 to win their first gold of the day.

It was the same top three as that race Smith won in 2023 with Jasmine Hall and Phoebe Lawson completing the podium.

Hall from Basildon and Phoenix Swimming finished quickly in a time of 1:07:15 whilst Coventry’s Lawton clocking in at 1:07.48.

In the Open/Male 14 and 15 year categories, there were thrilling battles for silver in both races.

Yakhno won the 14 Years race in a time of 01:04:25, whilst Kaden Frampton just pipped Ashby Edmonds to the silver.

They both crossed the finish line in 01:04:40 with Frampton touching the line slightly ahead of the Plymouth Leander swimmer.

William Wilson was also part of that chase group for the podium place, finishing just 10 seconds off the podium in fourth.

Yakhno however pulled clear of the pack in the closing stages to come away with the crown by a 15-second margin.

It was equally close in the 15 year category where Lucas Bryant came out on top.

The Maidenhead Marlins swimmer stormed to a 31-second lead as he reached the flag ahead of Edward Evans and Conner Aspinall (East Lothian) who were neck and neck at the line.

They raced together throughout and touched within the same second at 1:03:31 where Beckenham’s Evans just got his hand up first.

Bryant finished in 1:03:00 to upgrade from silver to gold after his swim at Rother Valley last time out.

You can find all the results from the GoCardless Swim England Open Water National Age Group Championships here.