Northumbria's Weekend Goes Swimmingly

Northumbria University brought home 12 medals to Sport Central after another brilliant showing at the 2017 BUCS Short Course championships.

Matt Wylie MBE and Adam Taylor both made their Northumbria debuts in a meet that also saw the return of Rio 2016 hero Phelipe Rodrigues.

And Tokyo 2020 hopeful Taka Suzuki won the male para performance of the weekend for his 50m backstroke win - his stunning time of 49.80secs the fastest in the world this year.

“It was another wonderful weekend for everyone involved with Northumbria swimming,” said the university’s Head of Aquatics, Louise Graham.

“The highlights came thick and fast and it was fantastic to have Phelipe back in the squad.

“We handed competitive debuts to Matt and Adam and our ninth finish overall was the best by a university without a 50m pool.

“I couldn’t have asked for more and I’m extremely proud of every swimmer who represented Northumbria in Sheffield.”

Rodrigues interrupted his studies on Tyneside to focus on Rio 2016 but has resumed his BA Leadership and Management degree on a distance learning course.

Wylie will represent Northumbria until at least 2021 after committing to an LLB Open Learning Law degree.

And Commonwealth Games hopeful Taylor - GB’s number three ranked 50m backstroke swimmer - looks set for a long and successful career at Sport Central.

Suzuki set the tone on day one with two para silvers and a gold - his 50m backstroke victory judged the highlight of the weekend.

Rodrigues picked up para gold in the 50m freestyle and bronze in the 100m butterfly (para event).

And Wylie bagged silver behind his South American team-mate in the 50m freestyle before Taylor won the 50m backstroke B final with a time that would have placed him fifth in the A final.

“It was a great first day capped off by the men finishing eighth in the 4x50m freestyle relay,” added Graham. “We felt we could pile on the points on day two.”

And it was Rodrigues who hit the headlines at Ponds Forge on the second day of competition after he became the first para swimmer in BUCS short course history to make the 100m freestyle able bodied final.

The Brazilian finished second before taking silver in the 100m individual medley and bronze in the 100m breaststroke (para event).

Suzuki and Wylie both added to their medal totals and Joel O’Halleron claimed vital BUCS points with a fine fourth-placed finish in the 100m breaststroke.