Age-group records in trials

Three new age-group swimming records were broken in the 5th and 6th swimming trials for 2006, the last being the final one of the year.

Mark Sammut, the ever-improving IASIS swimmer, established two new backstroke Group 'B' records, the first in the 50 metres in a time of 34.83 seconds. This bettered the previous best he had set in July by 14 hundredths of a second.

His second record was in the 200 metres event which he covered in 2 minutes 41.50 seconds, clipping a full 3.15 seconds off his own record also set in July this year.

The other record in the 'B' category came from Andrea M. Agius, the Neptunes swimmer whose time of 2:55.22 in the 200m breaststroke smashed Edward Caruana Dingli's July mark by 6.53 seconds.

The two well-patronised meetings produced some good times and personal bests by other swimmers, including some in the national squad, and this indicates that they are on the right track in this early stage of the season.

National coach Andy Colbourn said the swimmers have to keep up with a full and hard programme of training if these levels are to be maintained and target times for the GSSE in Monaco next June achieved. But the unavailability of the national pool for a long stretch will render all this very difficult.

For the last years maintenance on the pool has forced coaches to shelve their training programmes, including those of the national team squad, and wherever possible to hold training camps overseas at the swimmers' own expense.

It looks as if it will be no exception this winter as the pool will be closing down for three months as from November 6.