Chris Dunn came home in a time of 22.47.90, knocking nearly 4 minutes off the British record and 2 minutes off the European record, to win the 80-84 age group.

Also winning their age groups were Jennifer Kelly (40-44) in 23.13.01 and Christine Lutsch (45-49) in 22.50.90. 

Relay World Record

Chris then stayed on for the relay gala in the evening, joining up with Esther Iseppi (back), Amanda Heath (breast) and Clive Benson (fly) to break the world record for the 280+ Mixed Medley relay.

“We knew we had a chance of a World Record” said Amanda, “but after Esther fractured her wrist when we were in Abu Dhabi for the Open Masters Games last month, we thought it might be a tough ask. Almost fully recovered, Esther swam a great 100 backstroke leg and at the half way point we knew the record was within our grasp. Clive and Chris swam fabulous splits and we ended up over a second inside the old record, which was set in 2015 by a team from Tamalpais Masters in USA. Prior to that, Spencer held the record, with Esther (then on fly), Nigel Salsbury, Diane Ford and Geoff Stokes, so it’s nice to get it back again”.

The Team then went on to break Spencer’s European records in the 4x100m free (set last year at the same meet) and 4x50m free (set in Japan in 2023), and also broke the European record in the 4x50m medley held by a Hungarian team.

For their efforts, they were awarded the trophy for the Top Team performance.

Much further north, Suzanne Maidment was racing in Aberdeen, checking out the venue of the GB championships in June. Newly aged up to the 60-64 age group, she had some great swims, winning gold in the 200 breast and silver in the 200 and 400 free.

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Windermere is England’s longest lake and for open water swimmers it’s something of a rite of passage. For our member Luke, it was a challenge that had to be taken on, so 2025 became the year to do it.

The swim was organised by Chillswim, who run several Lake District events including the iconic Windermere crossing. September 6th was the date, with around 300 swimmers signed up. Entries require you to declare your intended pace, as swimmers are set off in waves. For the first hour you must stay with your wave, so pacing matters – too slow and you’ll spend the swim frustrated, too fast and you risk blowing up early.

Training started in the pool through the winter before moving into open water in early May. Luke kicked things off with a 5km lake swim, where he was beaten by his 15-year-old son, a reminder he is not as young as he once was! However rather than denting morale, it sharpened Luke’s focus.

Next up was a 9km swim at Lake Bala. True to form, the Welsh weather delivered rain, wind and chop. It was a tough and slightly unnerving experience, especially knowing it was only half the distance of Windermere. Confidence returned later in the summer during a 4.5 hour training swim in a large, flat-calm lake in France. Luke swam the entire session alone (phone safely in his tow float and always close to shore). After that, he was ready!

Event day begins with registration in a field at the north end of the lake, followed by a minibus ride to the southern start, an uncomfortably long journey when you know you’ll soon be swimming the whole way back.

The route is 17km (11 miles in the event’s preferred metric). Feed stops appear every mile, with small boats offering isotonic drinks and jelly babies, yum! Luke also carried carbohydrate pouches in his tow float and aimed to refuel roughly every two miles, about once an hour.

The opening miles were perfect. Flat calm water, a group of around 40 swimmers, and a pace that felt just right. The first feed stop broke the pack apart and from there it became a steady process of overtaking swimmers from earlier waves.

Just before halfway, the course cuts across the lake from east to west to keep swimmers clear of other lake traffic. It’s a welcome change of direction before the halfway point and the scenic stretch past the islands, where the waves begin to merge and the water fills with swimmers.

Beyond the islands the lake opens into its wider northern section. More boats, more waves and by now the weather had picked up slightly. Fatigue started to creep in, and thoughts turned increasingly to the large yellow rubber duck marking the finish line. At one point Luke spent nearly a mile chasing a swimmer with a small yellow duck tow float before realising it wasn’t the finish..!

The final mile crosses toward Ambleside, the real duck finally in sight. Tired arms are replaced by determination as the shoreline gets closer. At the finish, the enclosure is full of tired but happy swimmers, supporters and volunteers and the unmistakable camaraderie that seems to define open water swimming.

Huge well done to you Luke — you’ve shown the way and inspired a few of us to give it a go! An iconic swim, and a brilliant one to tick off the list!

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Spencer Swim Team will celebrate its 50th year next year, placing it among some of the most long-standing and prestigious masters swimming clubs in the UK. With a strong community of adult swimmers achieving success at regional, national, and international competitions, and the growing interest in all forms of adult swimming, we are experiencing membership growth.

Building on our coaching success

Spencer has already established a fantastic coaching team, with four coaches covering our seven scheduled sessions across the week. With over eighty regular swimmers, the club provides sessions for a wide cross-section of the masters swimming community.

Over the past year, the club has evolved its coaching structure to meet the demands of competition cycles. Our evolving structure has increased the popularity of many of our training sessions.

In response, the club is now seeking to recruit additional coaching experience. This appointment will support our expanding swim squad with development and performance.

Adding the right skills and experience

Spencer Swim Team seeks a passionate coach committed to improving masters swimmers to fulfil an open job role. The role will cover 1-2 sessions per week across our schedule.

An incoming coach must work with an existing team that has deep swim-coaching experience and knowledge. Our goal in appointing a new coach is to identify skills and experience that complement the current team. As a club, we’re interested in assistant coaches and those with more experience in planning and delivering training sessions for masters swimmers. Any new coach should be familiar with the principles of long-term development in adult fitness and performance. Experience of modern coaching approaches, including emerging research. Applicants must be at least a Level 1 Swim England Assistant Coach and preferably a Level 2 Swim England Swim Coach.

The coach must be local to our sessions across South London and able to access Dulwich, Forest Hill, Clapham, Tooting, and Putney.

Coaches interested in talking to us about joining the coaching team, can email us at spencerswimteam@gmail.com

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The Masters Swimmer’s Podcasts

Torpedo Swimtalk

Conversations at the heart of masters swimming

Torpedo Swimtalk has earned its place among the most beloved swimming podcasts in the masters swimming community. It brings warmth and genuine curiosity to every conversation, interviewing masters swimmers and coaches, elite age group competitors, and record holders from around the world. The show explores what keeps adult swimmers motivated across decades, how veterans approach periodisation and recovery differently from their younger counterparts, and the personal stories behind some of swimming’s most remarkable late-career performances. Episodes are accessible to swimmers of all levels, making it an ideal starting point if you are new to swim podcasts.

Pursue Potential Podcast

Unlocking the athlete mindset for lifelong competitors

The Pursue Potential Podcast takes a performance psychology lens to competitive swimming, examining the mental frameworks that allow athletes to keep improving well into their thirties, forties, fifties and beyond. Episodes draw on interviews with sports scientists, high-performance coaches, and masters athletes who have found ways to train smarter rather than simply harder. Topics range from goal setting, strength training, handling race-day nerves, to building sustainable training habits and bouncing back from injury. For the masters swimmer who wants to understand the ‘why’ behind their performance, this show offers genuinely actionable insight. Check out the excellent video content from these providers, Aquatic Sports Performance.

Freestyle Media

Swimming culture, stories, and the wider aquatic world

Freestyle Media takes a broader view of the sport, blending interviews, storytelling, and commentary that covers everything from grass-roots club culture to the upper reaches of competitive swimming. Masters athletes feature regularly, and the show does an excellent job of showing the continuum between recreational and elite participation. The production quality is high, the conversation is engaging, and episodes often surface perspectives from parts of the swimming world — open water, triathlon transition, para swimming — that do not always get airtime on more narrowly focused shows.

Unfiltered Waters

Honest, unscripted conversations about the sport we love

As the name suggests, Unfiltered Waters leans into candid, free-flowing discussion rather than tightly scripted interviews. The result is a show that feels like an honest conversation between passionate swimmers rather than a broadcast, which gives it an intimacy that fans appreciate. Topics range from training philosophy and meet preparation to the politics of the sport and the quirks of pool culture. Masters swimmers will recognise themselves in many of the discussions, and the lack of filter means opinions are genuinely expressed rather than carefully hedged.

Propulsion Swimming

Technical depth for the swimmer who wants to go faster

Propulsion Swimming is the show for the analytically minded masters athlete who wants to understand the mechanics of speed. Episodes dig into stroke technique, underwater work, starts and turns, and the biomechanics of efficient swimming with a level of detail that repays careful listening. Coaches and sports scientists appear alongside competitive swimmers, and the show does not shy away from complexity. If you have ever wanted a genuinely deep explanation of how to improve your distance per stroke or reduce drag through better body position, Propulsion Swimming delivers.

The Aqua Pod

Community, competition, and the joys of adult swimming

A podcast by Scottish Swimming, The Aqua Pod celebrates the community side of masters swimming as much as the competitive side. The show captures the camaraderie of swim clubs, the experience of training alongside people of wildly different ages and backgrounds, and the particular pleasure of a sport you can practise for a lifetime. Episodes feature a mix of competitive masters athletes and recreational swimmers, and the tone is inclusive and encouraging throughout. For anyone who wants a podcast that reminds them why they got into the water in the first place, The Aqua Pod delivers that with genuine affection for the sport.

Making the Most of Your Listening

The beauty of swimming podcasts is that they fit naturally into the rhythms of a training life. Long car journeys to swim meets, foam rolling sessions, early morning commutes before a dawn practice — all of these become opportunities to absorb coaching insights, hear from inspiring athletes, and deepen your connection to swimming.

Consider keeping a small notebook nearby when you listen to these swimmign podcasts. Masters swimmers are typically motivated, detail-oriented athletes, and you may find that a single observation from an interview — a cue for your catch, an idea about how to structure your taper, a mindset shift for approaching a target time — can have a meaningful impact on your training.

The swimming podcasts listed here vary in style, depth, and focus, which means there is something for every type of masters swimmer. Subscribe to a few, follow the ones that resonate, and enjoy the extra lane that swimming podcasts open up alongside the one you already occupy in the water.

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We also welcomed Valentyna Foytlova to the Spencer competitive squad for the first time, and what a fantastic performance she put in, delivering three gold medals in the 100m and 50m breaststroke, as well as the 50m freestyle. She also added potency to our relay teams, so it was great to have her as part of the squad.

Early Racing Sets Tone for the Team

The meet got off to a winning start, as both Luca Milana (50-54 yrs – men) and Simon Berrey (55-59 yrs – men) both came home in gold medal positions in the 200m Individual Medley. This was followed in event two by Valentyna’s triumphant 100m breaststroke (25-29 yrs – women) in 1:19.01.

Then came the legion of Spencer swimmers in the mixed 200m freestyle.

• Gold:
  • Leo Murison (30–34 men)
  • Amanda Heath (65–69 women)
• Silver:
  • Karl Simpson (50–54 men)
  • Jennifer Kelley (40–44 women)
• Bronze:
  • Emily Hayter (40–44 women)
  • Matthew Taylor (55–59 men)

The meet had started well, and next up, three Spencer swimmers came charging down the first length of the 200m fly side by side. Robyn Le Friec (35-39 – women), Leo Murison (30-34 – men) and John Fitzpatrick (50-54 – men), all pushing themselves in an unforgiving event. Leo and Robyn collected gold medals, with Robyn producing a new Bracknell Masters Meet Performance in 2:29.07.

Valentyna won gold in the 50m freestyle (29.59), Helen Cumber also won gold (29.20), and Leo Murison kept the trend going with a win for the men (26.01).

More Spencer Swim Team Results

A string of excellent individual performances continued through the afternoon as the masters swimming programme continued:

Backstroke

• Amanda Heath – 100m Backstroke, 1:33.53 (65–69 women) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 100m Backstroke, 1:08.19 (50–54 men) – Gold
• Simon Berrey – 200m Backstroke, 2:43.25 (55–59 men) – Gold
• Helen Cumber – 200m Backstroke, 2:38.83 (30–34 women) – Gold
• Amanda Heath – 200m Backstroke, 3:12.95 (65–69 women) – Gold

Additional Backstroke Sprints

• Helen Cumber – 50m Backstroke, 33.34 (30–34 women) – Gold
• Amanda Heath – 50m Backstroke, 43.44 (65–69 women) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 50m Backstroke, 31.42 (50–54 men) – Gold

Butterfly

• Robyn Le Friec – 50m Fly, 30.40 (35–39 women) – Gold
• Leo Murison – 50m Fly, 28.29 (30–34 men) – Silver
• Clive Benson – 50m Fly, 30.15 (60–64 men) – Gold
• John Fitzgerald – 100m Fly – 1:07.33 (men 50-54 age) – Gold
• Clive Benson – 100m Fly – 1:09.32 (men 60-64 age) – Gold

Individual Medley

• Leo Murison – 100m IM, 1:03.66 (30–34 men) – Gold

Breaststroke

• Jennifer Kelly – 50m Breaststroke, 43.27 (40–44 women) – Silver
• Amanda Heath – 50m Breaststroke, 43.55 (65–69 women) – Gold
• Luca Milana – 200m Breaststroke, 3:04.22 (50–54 men) – Gold

Freestyle

• Jennifer Kelly – 100m Freestyle, 1:11.42 (40–44 women) – Silver
• Amanda Heath – 100m Freestyle, 1:18.32 (65–69 women) – Gold
• Clive Benson – 100m Freestyle, 1:04.53 (60–64 men) – Silver

Some excellent results for individual performances but also some fantastic swims that perhaps fell outside the medal places but were . However, the Spencer team loves a relay, and it was here that the team spirit really came alive. The team scooped gold in the 4x50m freestyle (120+) and the 4x50m butterfly (160+). We also came in a close 4^th place on a couple of the other relay events for the 200+ team.

A Successful Day for Spencer Swim Team

An impressive collection of medals, season’s bests, and even a meet record reflects what a strong day this was for the Spencer Masters squad. With excellent team spirit and enthusiastic participation across all age groups, the Bracknell Open Masters Meet showcased the best of masters swimming and was a resounding success.

The post Swimmers Enjoy Competition Success at Bracknell Masters appeared first on Spencer Swim Team London.

In the 65-69 category, Amanda Heath won golds in the 400 free, 50m, 100m & 200m breast and silver in the 400m IM.

Guy Emerson 60-64

50 back Gold 34.83

100 back Gold 1.19.18

Suzanne Maidment 60-64

100 free Silver 1.15.32

200 free Gold 2.45.67

400 free Silver 5.53.83 

100 breast Silver 1.39.12

200 breast Silver 3.37.29

Amanda Heath 65-69

50 breast Gold 43.22

100 breast Gold 1.33.12

200 breast Gold 3.19.17

400 free Gold 5.58.55

400 IM Silver 6.43.72

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The event kicked off with the Open Water Swimming, on Hudayirat Island, with perfect conditions and a water temperature of 21 degrees. Michael Read and Jamie McKay were competing in the 5k and won gold and silver respectively, while Tony Cherrington and Alan Parkins both won gold in the 2.5k and Amanda Heath took silver in the 1.5k.

On to the pool events, where everyone medalled in all their events, with some great swims.

Individual Race Results

Michael Read – 85+ age group

GOLD 5k, 400m, 800m free and 200m & 400m IM, SILVER 100m, 200m free

Tony Cherrington – 80+ age group

GOLD 2.5K 50m, 100m, 200m 400m free

Alan Parkins – 65+ age group

GOLD 2.5k, 50m, 100m back, 100m fly, SILVER 800m free, 200m back

Jamie McKay – 40+ age group

SILVER 5k

Ivan Nechunaev – 35+ age group

GOLD 50m free (lifetime best of 24.16), 50m fly, SILVER 100m free, 100m fly

Amanda Heath – 65+ age group

GOLD 200m breaststroke, 400m IM, SILVER 1.5k, 50m, 100m breaststroke, 200m IM

Esther Iseppi – 65+ age group

SILVER 100m fly, 200m breast

This was an amazing achievement for Esther, as she slipped and fell the evening before the pool events, badly injuring her wrist. 3 days later, she was able to race tentatively, starting in the water and having to work hard to catch the rest of the field. Sadly, she had to miss her other events.

The event presentation was extremely professional, with competitors announced individually as they walked out from the call room, and the medal presentations were highly choreographed.

Media Coverage

The media were keen to record stories from competitors, with Spencer swimmers featuring in some of the videos shared during the event and on social media. Check out some of the videos below by clicking the links.

Spencer Swimmer’s Stories (video)

Michael’s story

Esther’s story

Esther and Amanda’s story

The Masters Games are quite different from other International Masters swimming events, encouraging athletes of all abilities from around the world to unite in competition and friendship. The medals were truly stunning and the message on the medal box inspirational: “Wellness is the real victory”.

Read more about International Masters Games Events here:

https://www.imga.ch

Athletes are encouraged to participate in, watch and support other sports and one of the highlights was a trip to the camel race track (to spectate, not race!)

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For some, it was a chance to make their mark in their new age group, for others, it was a chance to dust off the cobwebs and make a line in the sand for the rest of the year, and for most, it was a chance to catch up with teammates and have some fun racing.

Firmly in the first category was Chris Dunn, who has aged up to the 80-84 age group – he certainly made his mark on the record books with World Records in the 200m and 400m freestyle, a European Record in the 800m freestyle (knocking nearly a minute off the old record, and narrowly missing the WR), plus British records in the 50m & 100m freestyle and 100 & 200 backstroke. In total, he won an amazing 9 gold medals! Chris’s results are as follows: 

Chris Dunn (80/84)

200m freestyle 2:38.32 – Gold, British, European & World record

100m freestyle 1:13.89 – Gold, British record

100m backstroke 1:29.19 – Gold, British record

50m freestyle 32.25 – Gold, British record

400m freestyle 5:42.79 – Gold, British, European & World record

800m freestyle 11:55.54 – Gold, British & European record

200m backstroke 3:11.53 – Gold, British record

50m butterfly 48.15 – Gold

50m breaststroke 50.58 – Gold

This inspiring performance by Chris pushed other Spencer swimmers to deliver the goods, too.

Jess Campbell made a speedy appearance on Saturday morning to sweep up a gold medal and Scottish record in the 55-59 women’s 800m freestyle in a time of 11.14.88.

Esther and Amanda were up to their usual tricks, entering the same events, and taking 1-2 in the 50m, 100m & 200m breast and 400m IM, with Amanda taking an additional gold in the 200m IM.

More Spencer 1-2’s came from Matthew Taylor and Simon Berrey in the 55-59 men’s 50m back and Robyn Le Friec and Katarina Read in the 35-39 women’s 50m fly. Matthew also took bronze in the 800m free and 4th place in the 200m, while Simon won the 200m back, adding silver in the 100m back and 4th place in the 100m free. Robyn made it a double gold with a win in the 100m fly and Kati won the 200m IM.

More Spencer medals came from Helen Cumber, who won gold in the 30-34 women’s 100m back, and silvers in the 50m and 100m free. It was silvers all round for Suzanne Maidment, who came 2nd in the 200m & 800m free, and 200m breast. Jen Kelly won silver in the 400m free and was 7th in the 50m free, while Luca Milana brought home bronze in the 200m IM.

Simon summed up the weekend “Aside from the record breakers, there were some mere mortals racing at Crawley this weekend, me included… Times not important, but I still managed a gold and 2 silvers. However, being an out of towner, the best of all was catching up with people I only see at meets like this.”

Full Results and times are in the following link:

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As a masters swimmer, that mindset is vital. Winning is always nice. Achieving PBs or setting records is a great reward. However, for most masters swimmers, success is better measured by consistency, health, enjoyment, and gradual improvement. Training in a balanced and methodical way, taking everything from every practice, is an extraordinary benefit of returning to competition.

Many masters swimmers competed as age-groupers or at university and return with a mix of positive memories, unfinished business, and occasional apprehension. But masters competitions are different. The vibe is far more relaxed and community-oriented. And while your teammates will root for you from poolside, the emphasis is on participation and self-challenge rather than comparison. You’ll only ever hear positive support.

The Practical Side of Competitive Swimming

To get back to competing, you’ll need to join a Masters club affiliated with your national governing body (e.g. Swim England). Clubs provide coached sessions, technique advice, and, most importantly, a community of swimmers who understand the challenges of masters swimming and can advise on the best meets and races to target.

You need to register with your national swimming federation, Swim England, as a Masters Category 2 member. The club typically handles this and can assist you. Once registered, you’ll have a membership or ID number, which allows you to enter licensed events. Clubs are usually the primary source of guidance on competitions and entry procedures.

Target Progress not Perfection

Many masters swimmers turn up at competitions after extensive breaks from racing – often after decades away. As a result, swimmers are far from the finished article, and that is entirely normal. Most competitors jump in and give it a go. Don’t judge yourself against the younger you.

Training for competition should be approached with patience. Many returning swimmers remember how they trained in their twenties and are tempted to jump straight back into high volumes or intense sets. This often leads to fatigue, injury, or loss of motivation. A more effective approach is to focus first on consistency and technique. Swimming two or three times per week, with a focus on efficiency, aerobic fitness, strength, and basic skills, will lay the foundation for speed later on. Improvements in stroke mechanics often deliver bigger gains than simply swimming more lengths, particularly as we get older.

Be Selective and Patient

When choosing your first competition, it pays to keep things simple. Speak to your fellow swimmers or coaches for some friendly advice. Local or regional Masters meets are ideal starting points – your club can advise. You do not always need recent race times to enter; many events accept estimated entry times, and heats are commonly seeded to allow swimmers of similar ability to race together. Once you have banked a few times, you can enter swim meets with more stringent entry criteria.

Selecting a small number of races that you enjoy and feel comfortable swimming in allows you to focus on the experience rather than the outcome. For many swimmers, the first meet back serves as a useful benchmark rather than a performance target and helps identify which events suit you best at this stage. Chances are, you’ll climb out of the water totally exhilarated and impatient to swim again.

Enjoy the process

Keep expectations realistic and flexible. Identifying the right races for your current abilities takes time, as does relearning race pacing and skills such as starts and turns. You’re on a new swimming journey, and what you swam as a younger person may not carry over to masters competitions. For some swimmers, podium finishes may be realistic. For many others, the early goals should centre on enjoyment, confidence, and producing performances you feel proud of. Progress accelerates once consistency is established.

The truth is, unless you try, you’ll never know. And that is the spirit of masters swimming. One further key piece of advice: bring good snacks.

The post Advice for Masters Swimmers Returning to Competitive Swimming appeared first on Spencer Swim Team London.

Spencer was represented by Ivan Nechunaev, who had a great meet, picking up 2 silvers and 2 bronzes in the 35-39 age group. The silvers came in the 100 IM in 57.45 and the 100 freestyle in 51.77, where a fabulous last 25 brought him within a quarter of a second of the gold. A time of 55.85 won 3rd place and a bronze medal in the 100 fly. The 50 sprints were hotly contested in all age groups, and Ivan’s second bronze came in the 50 free in a time of 23.34, just 0.12 behind the winner. He also took 6th place in the 50 fly in 25.31.

Alan Parkins, swimming for his home club, Crawley, won silver in the 65-69 100 back in a time of 1.14.55, and took 4th places in the 50 back, 50 fly and 50 free.

The next European Championships will be Long Course, 21-30 Aug 2026 in Šamorín, Slovakia, where there will also be Open Water events, to be swum  in a backwater of the Danube. The short course championships will return in 2027.

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