A TEAM of talented swimmers took gold in the Swim England Artistic Swimming Combo Cup.
Athletes from Gateshead Synchronised Swimming Club, including Grace Arkley of Stocksfield, competed at the London Aquatics Centre.
The club entered four teams and saw golden success in the Division 2 13-18 years competition
The team, made up of Sophie Robinson, Anna Clemmetsen, Armela Brakaj, Harriet Stannard, Sofia Becerra-Mugica, Bethany Robinson, Grace Arkley and Lucy Watson, scored 62.3667 for a routine that would place the club over a mark clear of its nearest rivals.
The team scored 18.5000 for execution, 25.4667 for artistic impression and 18.4000 for difficulty.
The club also took silver in the opening session with its Division 1 15 & under team 1.
Yoanna Pavlova, Amelia Lowden, Kara Blenkinsop, Sophie Stewart, Grace Elsdon, Isabel Armstrong, Ellie Boyd and Kate Nelson scored 53.7667.
The Division 1 12 & under team placed 9th and the Divsion 1 15 & under team 2 placed 12th.
"The athletes have worked extremely hard since being able to train again when the pools reopened after the pandemic", said head coach Clare Bewick. "This was the biggest competition in over two years for most of our athletes.
"All four of our teams swam their routines brilliantly and I am so proud of the club finishing in 7th place overall out of 97 teams in the country."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here