Loughborough University Storms to BUCS Team Title Behind Balanced Attack
The 2023 BUCS Long Course Championships concluded with numerous meet records and a dominant performance from the Loughborough University team. Loughborough took home the team title, with Stirling in second and Edinburgh in third.
Daniel Wiffen set the tone for the Loughborough team by winning the 1500 Freestyle in 15:02.92, a BUCS record. The performance also won him the top male performer award (897 points).
American sprinter Catie DeLoof had a stellar meet, winning her three individual events and setting BUCS records in the 50 freestyle (24.74) and 100 freestyle (54.17). She also edged out teammate Lauren Cox by .04 for gold in the 50 backstroke, winning in a time of 28.26.
The men and women’s sprint breaststroke events produced some fascinating battles. In the women’s 50 and 100 breast events, Loughborough’s Tatiana Belonogoff held off Edinburgh’s Kara Hanlon. In the 50, Belonogoff won with a 30.69, with Hanlon finishing in a 30.86. In the 100, Belonogoff overhauled Hanlon over the last 25 to win in a time of 1:06.53, as Hanlon broke her own Scottish record to finish second with a 1:06.75.
It was a similar story in the men’s 50 and 100 breaststroke as Loughborough’s Greg Butler narrowly defeated Edinburgh’s Archie Goodburn. Butler, who is training partners with Adam Peaty, completed the breaststroke sweep by winning the 50, 100 and 200. In the 50, he won in a 27.77, with Goodburn finishing in a 27.82. In the 100, Butler finished in a 1:00.63, producing a storming second 50 to overhaul Goodburn (1:01.98).
Stirling’s Katie Shanahan had a standout meet, producing a lifetime best of 2:08.08 in the 200 backstroke to smash the BUCS record and win top female performer. She also won the 200 IM in a 2:11.63, managing to hold off Loughborough’s Freya Colbert (2:12.25) on the freestyle leg. Colbert got the better of Shanahan in the 400 IM, finishing in a 4:41.27 as Shanahan came home in a 4:43.99 to secure the silver medal.
Loughborough’s Alex Cohoon completed the freestyle sprint double. In the 50, he out-touched Edinburgh’s Tom Carswell to win in a time of 22.76, as Carswell finished in a 22.84. In the 100, Cohoon was able to hold off Leeds Beckett’s Jordan Cooley on the final 50 to win in a time of 49.94, with Cooley finishing just over two tenths behind in 50.15.
University of Birmingham swimmer Oliver Morgan won the 100 and 200 backstroke events. In the 200, he won in a 2:00.20, overhauling Nottongham Trent’s Charlie Brown on the final 50. In similar fashion in the 100 back, Morgan was able to beat out the winner of the 50 backstroke, Connor Ferguson, to claim gold in a 54.92.
Loughborough’s Paige Madden won the 200 and 400 freestyles. In the 200, she won comfortably with a 1:58.92, but the 400 was much closer as she was able to hold off Freya Colbert in a 4:11.15, with Colbert just .07 behind. They were promising swims for Madden, who looks like she is slowly getting back to her best after leaving the University of Virginia to train and study at Loughborough in September.