St Columba's College enjoy super trip to World School Games at London 2012 arena
St Columba's College swimming team at the London Aquatic Centre. - Credit: ST COLUMBA'S COLLEGE
The first World School Swim Championships brought delight and a whole heap of medals for St Columba's College.
Held at London Aquatic Centre and covering the U11, U13, U15 and U17 age groups, the event brought together hundreds of swimmers from schools across the UK and Dubai.
And for the King Harry Lane-based school, the event couldn't have gone any better.
Caitlin Hartley was the star of the show with five gold medals and a new World School's Games record in the U17 50m breaststroke.
Valeria Giron won individual gold in the U17 50m freestyle and teamed up with Hartley to win gold in in a pairs Relay.
Antonia Jubb won individual gold in the U17 200m freestyle and then finished second alongside Hartley, Brayan Assaker and George Hooper in the mixed freestyle relay, missing out on the win by 0.67 seconds.
Assaker and Hooper also swam in the pairs relay, finishing fourth, with Hooper also finishing in the same position across three individual events.
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Andrew Cook of the World School Games said: "We are all so pleased to see so many athletes competing with smiles on their faces after a couple of really difficult years for young people.
"The event was due to make its debut back in 2020 but the pandemic forced us to rearrange more than once.
"It’s brilliant to finally see it come to life."
Heather Stott, St Columba’s swimming coach, congratulated all the swimmers who took part.
She said: "Well done to all the boys and girls. They all swam really well and are a credit to their school, families and coaches. They gained valuable experience and had fun.
"It was a well-organised, exciting event at a fantastic facility. All our swimmers enjoyed the experience, and for many it was their first visit to the Olympic Park.
"This is definitely an event we hope to participate in again in the future."
Earlier in the year, St Columba’s swimmers had great success in the Herts Schools Swimming League.
The Year 7 A and B teams won their league as did the junior boys' team for pupils in Year 7 and 8, with the latter going on to win the Top 8 Final Gala as well.
