COMPETING amongst the best in the country, Matt Edwards from Tavistock Swimming Club swam in the 1,500m freestyle at the British Gas ASA National Youth and Open Swimming Championships, held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.

The heat that Matt swam in was a great one with his good early pace helping him to be one of the front runners.

Matt had a great battle for second position throughout and it came down to a sprint finish. His finishing time was 16 minutes 23.69 seconds, is a lifetime best and 37 seconds improvement from his most recent time. This meant he improved his ranking from 30th on the start list to finish in 17th position, a truly excellent result.

Matt also achieved his open national qualifying time for next year by a considerable amount. The hard work in Meadowlands pool and support from his clubmates really paid off.

James Lake, head coach at Tavistock Swimming Club said: 'It could have not gone better, so proud of Matt. Well done!'