Colbourn pleased after record spate

Continued improvement by Maltese swimmers and high-profile international exposure seem to be galvanising our athletes as they continue to set new records.

Competing on the second and third days of the Lyon International Swim Meet, which attracted some well-known swimmers mostly from Italy, Great Britain and France, our boys and girls added to their three records set on Friday.

On Saturday, Andrea Agius swam an excellent 100 Breast in the 'A' final to better his own national record by 0.59 seconds when clocking 1:08.63.

Jonathan Boffa became only the second swimmer in a Maltese squad after Neil Agius to break the two-minute barrier in the 200 Free when stopping the watches on 1:59.15. But this will not count as a record as Boffa does not hold a Maltese passport.

Daniel Galea twice made new inroads on the 100 Breast age-group 'D' record of 1:10.62 held by Andrea Agius. He first covered the distance in 1:10.53 and then did a 1:09.73. The other Group 'D' record on Saturday came from Nikki Muscat in the 50 Fly when she finished in 29.85.

The last day (Sunday) also reserved satisfaction for the Maltese clan as Andrea Agius underlined his fine form when swimming the 200 Breast in a new national record of 2:32.66, a full 2.40 seconds faster than his own mark of 2:35.06.

This year-old national mark had just been broken a short time earlier when the ever-improving Daniel Galea clocked 2:34.81. But this time also improved Galea's previous Group 'D' limit set in June last year of 2:37.56.

Mark Sammut was also in record groove when outsmarting a French competitor in a 100 back swim-off after they tied in a heat. The Maltese won the race in 1:03.34, an improvement of six hundredths of a second on his previous Group 'D' mark.

A satisfied national coach Andy Colbourn commented that this exposure for our boys and girls in a high-level swim meet has proved beneficial and an opportunity for some to break records and others to improve their personal best times.

He continued saying that our swimmers thave put behind them the shortfall in their training programme due to the closure of the national pool before the end of the year.