A TOTAL of 54 medals were won by Ledbury Swimming Club at the Hereford Open Meet.

For many swimmers it was an exercise in endurance as they competed in morning and afternoon sessions on both days.

Once again, captains Ellie Ainsworth and Elliot Heath led by example with Ainsworth winning five silver medals and Heath winning one gold, five silver and three bronze.

Matt Thomas, Seb Roffey and Danny Kearley won two events each and also returned with a clutch of silver and bronze medals.

Golds were also won by Bradley Williams, Lydia Freeman and Daisy Wood.

Ten-year-old Tom Birley took a silver and three bronze medals with county qualifying times, while Danny Kearley added breaststroke and backstroke bronzes to his gold.

Emily Russell won bronze in a hard-fought backstroke race and 11-year-old Wood claimed gold in the 200-metre butterfly, along with silver in the backstroke, breaststroke and 100-metre butterfly.

William Kennedy added five bronzes.

In the 12 years age group, Daisy Kearley swam strongly to take bronze in the 100-metre butterfly.

Seb Roffey won silver in the breaststroke and freestyle as well as five bronzes to add to his two golds — all with county qualifying times.

Talesha Hunt was under pressure in the 14-year-old events but battled through to take bronze in both the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke events.

In the same age group, Lydia Freeman added two bronze medals in the backstroke and freestyle to her freestyle gold, all in personal best times.

In the boys’ events, Matt Thomas added a butterfly silver medal and a freestyle bronze to his collection.

Lucy Stokes competed in the 16 and over age group and won silver in the 100-metre butterfly in a county qualifying time.

Head coach Duncan Loraine said: “It was a long weekend and the swimmers have not only coped and swam well but have been very supportive of each other.

“Although it is pleasing to see so many medal winners, at this time of year the achievement of personal best times and county qualifying times is far more important.

“I am particularly pleased to see swimmers excel at more than one stroke which I consider an important part of their development.”

He added: “This year it has proved a great experience for all our swimmers and has yielded 131 new best times, the majority of which will make them eligible for the biggest event on our calendar; the Worcester County Championships in March.”

Meanwhile, five Ledbury masters swimmers were selected to represent Worcestershire in the West Midlands inter-county division held at Rugby.

Viv Hewitt, Viv Jones, Niall Hall, Helen Preedy and Lucy Stokes all helped the county secure third place at the competition.