The BSN Swim Team travelled down to Leuven in Belgium to compete in its final ISST Swimming Championships on the 6 March. The team entered all four divisions (a boys and girls team at both Varsity and Junior level) and competed in all 36 events.
On day 1 there were some excellent swims in the 200 freestyle where Sean broke the ISST record on his way to the BSN’s first gold medal of the day. Catharina and Eliott, who both earned 5th place in the event, swam commendably. Ada went on to secure a sensational podium on her way to her first bronze medal at ISST in the Junior girls 100 breaststroke and Alex was unlucky to finish just off the podium in 4th place in the Junior boys event.
In the 100 butterfly, it was once again Sean who led the way, coming from behind to claim his second gold of the day. Special mention must be made of Madoline and Hugo, who managed to qualify for the finals and both finished in 6th place. Not to be undone, Ignazio finished 7th in the 100 butterfly and an impressive 6th in the Varsity boys 50 freestyle, contributing some valuable points to the team.
The day ended with some nail-biting relays and saw the Varsity boys just losing out to eventual winners British School of Brussels (BSB) by a mere 0.02 of a second.
Day 2 got off to a promising start with Sean claiming his 3rd gold in the 100 freestyle and Ignazio coming through to claim a commendable 5th place. In the 100 backstroke, Eliott, Madoline and Alex all managed to qualify for the finals and add to the teams overall tally of points. In one of the hardest events of the day, the 200 Individual Medley, both Eliott and Madoline swam well on their way to 4th place, both narrowly missing out on a medal. Simon and Alex did well in the Junior boys 200 IM finishing 7th and 8th respectively.
In the final event of the competition, the Varsity boys did themselves proud by finishing in an unexpected 3rd place earning them a well earned bronze medal to finish off the competition.
This final push earned the Varsity Boys 2nd place overall in their division. In the overall competition, the BSN finished 4th on the medals table and special mention must be made of Sean who broke 1 ISST record and set 3 new BSN records at this, the final ISST competition for the BSN. The Swim Team wish Ignazio and Sean, as our two outgoing seniors, all the best for the future and thank them for the great example they have set for both the team and the school.
