2018 BUCS SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Friday, November 9th – Saturday, November 11th
- Ponds Forge ISC, Sheffield
- SCM
- Meet Info
- SwimSwam Meet Preview
- Entry List
- Recap #1
- Live Results
Loughborough University claimed its 15th consecutive combined team trophy at the 2018 British Universities & Colleges Sport Championships (BUCS) at Ponds Forge this weekend, thanks to several records that bit the dust by way of its squad’s prowess.
Loughborough’s combined team earned 435 points to runner-up Stirling’s 380, while the University of Edinburgh rounded out the top 3 teams in 314.
Top 5 Teams (Combined) at 2018 BUCS:
- Loughborough – 435
- Stirling – 380
- Edinburgh – 314
- Manchester Metro – 193
- Bath – 184
Among the records broken across the 3-day competition were 2 breaststroke events won by Loughborough’s James Wilby. The Commonwealth Games triple medalist threw down a mighty 26.74 on night 2 to clock a new BUCS Record and top the podium, while he nabbed a new BUCS Record in the 100m breast tonight in 58.07. Both marks situate the Brit within the top 20 performances in the world this season.
Wilby’s Loughborough teammate Imogen Clark wreaked havoc across the women’s breaststroke events as well, starting with a new BUCS Record in the 50m. Earning a winning time of 29.94, Clark registered the only mark of the field under 30 seconds for victory.
Clark also beat out 200m breaststroke national record holder Jocelyn Ulyett in the 100m sprint, with the former taking gold in 1:06.87 to Ulyett’s 1:06.96. Manchester’s Katie Matts was right behind for bronze in 1:07.03.
Scottish swimmer Tain Bruce fell victim to Clark in the 50m butterfly, as Clark touched in 26.84, just .01 ahead of Bruce’s 26.85. For Bruce, however, the University of Edinburgh swimmer had already produced her best swim of the meet the previous night, taking the 100m fly in a new BUCS and Scottish National Record.
In that 100m, Bruce finished in 57.55 her fastest ever and well ahead of the previous Scottish NR of 58.31 that’s been on the books since 2009. Bruce owns the LCM 100m fly Scottish NR as well.
The men’s 200m backstroke saw Loughborough’s Luke Greenbank earn the win in 1:53.29, a new meet record, while Sheffield Hallum’s Max Litchfield took the men’s 400m IM in 4:08.08, also a new record. The women’s 50m freestyle meet record also bit the dust, courtesy of Emily Barclay‘s winning time of 24.51.
Other Swims of Note:
- Loughborough women broke the meet record in the 200m free relay, clocking 1:39.39. They also broke the meet record in the medley relay with a winning effort of 1:47.94.
- The Stirling men were successful in the 200m free relay, establishing a new meet record of 1:27.08 for the win.
- Loughborough men’s 4 x 50m medley relay was victorious in a new meet record time of 1:27.08
- University of Edinburgh’s Monique Kawazaki blew away the Luxembourg National Record in the women’s 200m fly in 2:13.93 for 6th place. Plymouth’s Laura Stephens was the winner well ahead, though, in 2:06.47.
- Commonwealth Games gold medalist Duncan Scott hit the pool this weekend, earning a gold in the men’s 200m fly in 1:57.28 and also taking the 400m free in 3:46.62.