Pool Rules! First BSME Swimming Championships a Great Success

Muscat – “The First British Schools of the Middle East (BSME) Championships was a tremendous success and a great day for swimming in Oman,” declares the proud organizer, David Rogers, Director of Swimming, British School Muscat (BSM). “We had over 150 swimmers take part, with representatives from every GCC country. There was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the competition and the participants truly excelled themselves with some top class swimming.”

The meet took place at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex: “It’s a real honour to be selected to host an event of the caliber of the BSME Swimming Championships and fortunately we had a venue to do it justice with the 50 metre pool at Bausher; it’s of Olympic standard and was great opportunity for the swimmers,” says Rogers. “It both challenged and motivated them, producing some top class results. I’d also like to thank the Oman Swimming Association for everything they did - their time-keepers in particular did a great job on the day. Also thanks to the BSM staff who helped and the Marlins members who worked behind the scenes sorting out the results and medals.”

It’s important to understand the quality of swimmer that the BSME Championships attracted explains Rogers: “Meets of this kind are the starting point for many household names of the future and the competition they offer is vital in helping swimmers raise their standards and develop their potential. They shouldn’t be underestimated and I’m pleased to say that the local business community appreciates their value and gave us a fantastic level of support – we were backed by: the British Business Forum, the Park Inn, DHL, Pocari Sweat, Al Turki Transport and Global Scuba.”

The results table shows that the BSM Marlins Swim Team achieved an excellent level of success at the Championships winning 25 gold medals, 14 silvers and 16 bronzes. On top of that, 47 school records were broken and 80% of the swims by members of BSM Marlins were personal best times. All of the gold medal winners are now BSME record holders.

“The BSM Marlins have a terrific haul of medals and records; that is, of course, outstanding and I’d like to congratulate all the medal winners and the Marlins who are now BSME record holders. However, I do think it’s important to recognize the achievements of each and every competitor, not just the medal winners – for many of the younger ones it was their first time competing in a 50 metre pool and in an international event – quite a daunting thing in itself. So special congratulations should go to them. Well done.”


Medallists at the BSME Swimming Championships -
Gold: Chloe Barrow 4, Olena Kozak-King 4, Mohammed Khalil 4, Emily Field 3, Theodore Pender 2,
Jeremy Filed 2, Sian Cogan 1, Sarah Holmes 1, Sam Woodward 1
Relay Teams 3
Total Gold Medals - 25

Silver: Hanna Kozak-King 3, Kieran Armstrong 1,
Amy Broughton 1, Sian Cogan 1, Emily Field 1, Sarah Holmes 1, Georgia Mahoney 1, Theodore Pender 1,
Sam Woodward 1,
Relay Teams 3
Total Silver Medals - 14

Bronze: Ryan Keelor 2, Lewis Whitelaw 2, Kieran Armstrong 1, Sian Cogan 1, Hanna Kozak-King 1,
Patrick Pender 1, Theodore Pender 1, Daniel Robb 1, C J van Dyk 1,
Relay Teams 5
Total Bronze Medals - 16

Personal Best Times: 80% (138 out of 173 swims)

BSME Long Course Records: As this was the first ever BSME Swimming Championships ALL winners established the BSME Record for their age group

School Records: 47 broken