West Norfolk Swimming Club delivered an outstanding series of performances at the 2026 Swim England East Region Long Course Championships, held across three weekends between 24 April and 10 May at Inspire Luton and the UEA Sportspark in Norwich.
Competing against some of the East Region's strongest swimmers, the Purple Army demonstrated determination, talent and teamwork across a wide range of events, with victories, podium finishes and an impressive collection of age-group final appearances.
Harris Leads the Way with Three Victories
Millie Harris enjoyed a superb championship campaign, finishing first in three 17 years and over age-group finals.
Millie claimed victory in the 50m freestyle in 26.76 seconds, improving on her heat swim of 26.87.
She continued her excellent form in the butterfly events, winning the 50m butterfly final in 28.00 seconds, having qualified fastest in her age group with 28.10 in the heats.
Millie also secured first place in the 100m butterfly final, touching the wall in 1:01.82.
Three first-place finishes across freestyle and butterfly represented a fantastic achievement and highlighted Millie's outstanding form.
Bradford Shines with Butterfly Victory
Olivia Bradford produced a fantastic series of performances in the 15-year-old category, including an excellent victory in the 50m butterfly final.
Having qualified with a time of 29.15 seconds, Olivia delivered an outstanding final swim of 28.73 seconds to secure first place.
She also impressed in the freestyle events, taking second place in the 50m freestyle final in 27.43 seconds, improving significantly on her heat time of 28.06.
Olivia added a third-place finish in the 100m freestyle final, recording 1:00.42, having qualified in 1:01.49.
There was further finals success in the 100m butterfly, where Olivia finished fourth in 1:06.58.
With a victory, multiple podium finishes and strong racing across both strokes, it was an excellent championship for Olivia.
Young Swimmers Make Their Mark
Some of the most exciting performances came from West Norfolk's younger swimmers, who demonstrated that the future of the Purple Army is looking bright.
Valeria Soldatihhina enjoyed an outstanding championship in the girls' 13-year-old category, producing a series of impressive swims.
One of her standout performances came in the 200m butterfly, where she secured first place in the age-group final with a time of 2:33.72. Valeria had recorded an even faster 2:33.69 in the heats.
She also finished second in the 100m butterfly final in 1:08.65 and third in the 200m individual medley final in 2:35.41.
Further final appearances included fifth-place finishes in the 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke, alongside a seventh-place finish in the 200m freestyle.
Elizabeth Litvinenko also produced some excellent performances, including a superb second-place finish in the girls' 13-year-old 200m butterfly final in 2:35.30, improving on her heat time of 2:36.35.
Elizabeth also reached finals in the 200m individual medley, 100m butterfly and 50m breaststroke, demonstrating impressive versatility across multiple strokes.
Chadderton Celebrates Double Podium Success
Mabelle Chadderton enjoyed an excellent championship in the 11/12-year-old age group, securing two podium finishes.
Mabelle finished second in the 200m backstroke final in 2:40.15, before adding a third-place finish in the 200m freestyle final in 2:24.19.
These results were fantastic achievements for one of the club's younger competitors and reflected the hard work being put into training and racing.
Pattison and Wilson Impress in Butterfly Finals
West Norfolk also enjoyed considerable success in the men's butterfly events.
Alexander Pattison secured second place in the boys' 16-year-old 100m butterfly final, finishing in 59.26 seconds. His fastest swim of the event came in the heats, where he recorded an impressive 59.12.
Alexander followed this with a third-place finish in the 200m butterfly final, improving from 2:17.16 in the heats to 2:15.53.
He also finished second in the 50m butterfly final in 26.82 seconds, adding another excellent result to his championship campaign.
Jamie Wilson also demonstrated his strength in the butterfly events, taking third place in the 17 years and over 200m butterfly final.
Jamie recorded 2:13.69 in the final, having swum an even faster 2:13.06 in the heats.
He also reached the 100m butterfly final, finishing seventh. His fastest swim came in the heats with 58.58 seconds.
These performances highlighted the continued strength of West Norfolk's butterfly swimmers.
Further Final Appearances Across the Club
There were plenty of other impressive performances, with West Norfolk swimmers progressing through the heats to compete in age-group finals.
Rejus Mazeika reached both the 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle finals in the 15-year-old category, finishing seventh and eighth respectively.
Kirill Ivanenco produced a strong performance in the 15-year-old 200m butterfly final, finishing sixth in 2:30.75.
Theo Ryan delivered an impressive fourth-place finish in the 16-year-old 50m backstroke final in 30.13 seconds, alongside a sixth-place finish in the 100m backstroke final. His faster 100m backstroke time of 1:05.03 came in the heats.
Joshua Jones reached the 17 years and over 200m breaststroke final, finishing sixth in 2:31.66.
Sarah O'Brien also featured in the 17 years and over 100m breaststroke final, finishing seventh in 1:16.08.
There were further final appearances for Ruby Baxter, who qualified in both the 200m individual medley and 50m butterfly, while Polly Anderson reached finals in the 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke.
Harry Clarke also earned a place in the boys' 14-year-old 200m breaststroke final, finishing eighth.
Every final qualification represented a significant achievement in highly competitive regional fields.
Distance Swimmers Demonstrate Their Determination
The championships also provided demanding challenges for West Norfolk's distance specialists.
Jamie Wilson recorded a strong 8:50.09 in the 800m freestyle and finished third in the published 17 years and over 1500m freestyle age-group results in 17:02.76.
Noah Goodson finished fifth in the boys' 14-year-old 1500m freestyle in 18:47.97.
Elizabeth Litvinenko completed the girls' 13-year-old 1500m freestyle in 20:15.13, finishing eighth, while Nellie Chadderton recorded 20:22.34 for 12th place in the 14-year-old category.
These longer events demonstrated the endurance, commitment and race preparation required to compete successfully at regional level.
A Fantastic Team Effort from the Purple Army
Beyond the headline achievements, West Norfolk was represented by swimmers across a broad range of ages, strokes and distances.
From the club's youngest regional qualifiers to its experienced competitors, each swimmer played a part in a memorable championship campaign.
Whether progressing to an age-group final, achieving a strong placing or gaining valuable racing experience, every performance represented months of dedication and preparation.
The results across freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and individual medley events highlighted the breadth of talent being developed throughout West Norfolk Swimming Club.
Another Proud Championship for West Norfolk
A huge congratulations to every swimmer who represented the Purple Army throughout the championships.
With first-place finishes, podium performances and numerous final qualifications, the club has plenty to celebrate.
Thank you also to our coaches, team managers, parents and supporters, whose commitment and encouragement continue to help our swimmers achieve their ambitions.
Another fantastic championship for West Norfolk Swimming Club — and plenty of exciting racing still to come!
Train hard, race easy!