Having
scored
seven medals across the team ahead of the final day, a flourishing finish
to the championships took Great Britain’s medal tally into double figures.
Leah Schlosshan opened up the concluding session of the meet with gold in Women’s 200m Individual Medley, while Jonathon Marshall claimed a backstroke bronze and Jacob Whittle a freestyle silver before ending the night on top of the podium as part of a Men’s 4x100m Medley relay quartet.
Schlosshan had set her marker as the fastest qualifier for the 200m Individual Medley final and just as she had done in the qualifying rounds the City of Leeds swimmer came to the fore with a dominant breaststroke leg before powering home to stop the clock in a lifetime best of 2:13.49.
Having taken Britain’s first gold of the meet a delighted Schlosshan said:
“It’s a big PB, which is great. I did one in the semis, today I wanted to go inside 2:14, and I ticked that too. After I qualified first from the heats and then from the semis, I thought, OK, I could get the gold so yeah, it’s a kind of relief that I won. Last year I was nowhere close to the final, so I’m feeling great.”
Teammate Phoebe Cooper additionally put in a good swim, leading over the back and butterfly legs before ultimately finishing fifth overall.
Britain’s second moment of golden glory came in the Men’s 4x100m Medley. Relays have been fruitful opportunities for the team in Romania and Jonathon Marshall, Elliot Woodburn, Evan Jones and Jacob Whittle combined to end the campaign on a high note with victory in a nip-and-tuck win against Ukrainian and Polish quartets.
The finals team was a complete refresh, with the required work of qualifying achieved by Matthew Ward, Harvey Freeman, Antonio Rodriguez and Alexander Painter – who also all received gold medals in recognition of their efforts.
In securing the gold Whittle provided an anchor leg over two seconds quicker than anyone else in the field, demonstrating a repeat of the prowess that had earnt him a silver earlier in the night in the Men’s 100m Freestyle and meaning he leaves the championships with four medals in total. Heats anchorman, Painter just missing out on the podium in fourth in that final.
Meanwhile Marshall who had set the team off for that relay triumph achieved a four medal haul of his own with bronze in the Men’s 100m Backstroke, with compatriot Ward also progressing his time from qualifying to rank sixth in the final.
The British junior team in Bucharest, finished second overall in the points trophy, with the measure for that award taking into account performances from both semi-finals and finals. The closing two days of actions saw further promising finals performances from Ashleigh Ballie and Lucy Fox who finished fourth and sixth respectively in the Women’s 200m Butterfly, while Evie Dilley (5th – Women’s 100m Backstroke) and Sienna Robinson (6th – Women’s 100m Breaststroke) joined up with Hollie Widdowes and Erin Little to take fifth in the Women’s 4x100m Medley, and the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle foursome of Whittle, Reuben Rowbotham-Keating, Painter and Jones were just shy of the podium in fourth.
Reflecting back on the thrilling close to a week of action at the Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex, British Swimming Head of Performance Development Alan Lynn commented:
“That final session was special, bookended by gold medals for Leah Schlosshan in the 200m IM - carrying on a long tradition at junior level for her family - and then of course the sheer excitement of the men's medley relay team, as Jacob Whittle brought it back from fifth to first on that last freestyle leg.
“That was quite the spectacle and a fantastic effort by all eight boys - four in the heat and then we changed the team completely for the final, giving eight medals which is a fantastic return for those eight in particular.”
A return of eleven medals is not the only measure of success too, as Lynn added:
“The opportunities to learn at junior level were plentiful during the week. Swimmers on the British team, where often there were four people in the heats, had to finish as one of the top two Brits in the heats in order to progress to semis and finals, which in itself is a competitive feat - and then beyond that, you are competing against everyone else in the evening sessions.
“We had some great performances that didn't even make it to the next round, notably in the men's backstroke where we were very strong, but it isn't always just about being on the podium, it's about learning from the opportunities that are presented to you, coping with six days of tough racing - Hollie Widdowes swam 17 separate races over the week, each one of them was prepared for and executed with the same level of dedication and professionalism.
“The event itself was quite a spectacle. The arena in Otopeni, a suburb of Bucharest, was superb, it was superbly run, expertly operated and presented in a manner probably akin to a senior international competition, so it was a fantastic event.”
Find full event results from the European Junior Swimming Championships here.