Tavistock swimmers made a splash on the national stage at the prestigious British Masters Championships, scooping two national titles.

Two swimmers from Tavistock Swimming Club (TSC) made the long journey to Aberdeen to compete at the British championships (June 12-14), where elite-level athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland gathered after qualifying through recently achieved national standard times.

The championships attracted hundreds of club swimmers, making qualification alone a significant achievement. For TSC to have two competing at this level and to return with two British titles, a bronze medal and PB was a fantastic reward for the dedication and training both swimmers showed throughout the season.

Representing Tavistock with distinction were swimmer and Tavistock Primary School teacher Sam Lake and Tavistock swimming coach Jacob Cacchione, who produced impressive performances against the country's best masters swimmers.

Sam Lake enjoyed a highly successful championship, returning as double age group British Champion. Lake claimed gold in the 800m freestyle and 400m freestyle events, producing a new PB of 5min 6.29sec in the 400m for the national title. She added bronze in the 200m freestyle with a season's best 2min 28.04sec.

Her results demonstrated excellent consistency, with appearances in the 50m freestyle, finishing tenth in 31.39sec.

Meanwhile, Tavistock Swimming Club coach Jacob Cacchione showed his versatility across four different events. His strongest performances were backstroke, finishing seventh in the 50m backstroke in 30.87sec and eighth in the 100m backstroke with1min 10.31sec. He also placed eleventh in the 50m butterfly (28.49sec) and 50m freestyle (26.57sec) in highly competitive fields.

Speaking after the event, Lake said: “I’m delighted with the results, particularly my 400m freestyle PB and the opportunity to compete against the best masters swimmers in Britain.

“The performances continue a strong period for Tavistock Swimming Club, highlighting depth of talent within the club in the pool and on the coaching team.”