EINDHOVEN, Netherlands – Across all age groups, records were broken and several swimmers won every event in their age bracket on the first day of the European Forces Swim League.
Chief among the record setters on day one was Stuttgart’s Ella Bathurst. The Piranhas’ 11-year old competitor broke nearly every standing record in her age bracket – several of which she had set previously.
In the 100 meter individual medley, she set the best girl’s time among any age bracket with a time of 1 minute, 13.57 seconds. She also bested the record of 34.26 seconds in the 50 meter butterfly – set in 2012 – in 33.42. To cap off an impressive first day, she broke her personal best of 2 minutes, 24.50 seconds – another league record – in the 200 freestyle in 2:24.22.
“The parents are a big support and we have some really great coaches,” Bathurst said. “They really help us to swim the best. They just coach us really well.”
Bathurst’s parents – Ty and Devon Bathurst – are among Stuttgart’s 12 coaches.
“I’ve never seen a more enthusiastic or dedicated bunch, and I’ve been doing this for some time” Ty Bathurst said. “But at the end of the day, they swim it. We just cheer them on.”
Stuttgart had a strong first day, with Ariana Lewis, Alexia Symak, Madeline Koning, Joshua Golembeski and Matthew Heaphy adding to its first-place finishes. But their successes were only a fraction of the victories on day one.
Geilenkirchen’s 7-year-old wunderkind, Hylcke de Beer, won the 100 individual medley, the 100 butterfly, the 50 breaststroke and the 200 freestyle. Her closest competition was Maesyn Albert, who finished three seconds behind in the 200 race.
Lakenheath’s brother and sister duo of Dominic and Alaina Scifo tore through their respective age brackets, combining to win eight races. Dominic Scifo added half a second from his seed time in the butterfly, but said he was ultimately satisfied with the results of his early races.
“I was a little tight,” he said. “It was an all right swim, but a bad finish.”
All right or not, he still managed to outpace his competition in every race. He beat his nearest competition, Jon Roddy, by more than two full seconds and racked up four first-place finishes.
“You just remember all the laps in practice and you make it happen,” he said. “When you’re here and you get to the wall and you see your time, that’s when all the practice is worth it.”
Alaina Scifo was equally untouchable in the girl’s 17-19 bracket, winning each of her events. In the 400 freestyle, she finished more than 30 seconds ahead of the pack.
“We definitely put in the hours,” Alaina Scifo said. “It’s not easy. … I do it because I know it’ll make me better, and to me, that’s worth it.”
The closet race was a photo finish between Sophi Woolcok and Fra Gatterburg in the girl’s 15-16 100 breaststroke. Woolcock won by .01 seconds.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Woolcock said. “The only thing I could think was ‘reach!’”
NATO’s Sebastian Lunak also had a fantastic day, placing first in the 12-year-old 100 medley, the 50 butterfly and 50 breaststroke and the 200 freestyle. He credited his strong showing to his dedication to training.
On Sunday, the swimmers have another day of competition. The ultimate victors, coach Bathurst said, will be those mentally prepared to tackle back-to-back competition days.
“The difference between a great swimmer and a good swimmer is on the second day,” he said, “where at the end, if they’re still being able to keep their mind and body connected and get back in the water and swim.”