BASINGSTOKE Bluefins enjoyed great success at the British Gas Masters and Seniors Long Course Championships in Plymouth.

The event saw all 11 swimmers come home with at least one medal as part of their best ever national haul, which included five golds, writes Michelle Matson.

The first swimmer to pick up a medal was Dave Davenport in the gruelling 1,500 metres, where he won silver.

Davenport then went on to secure two further bronze medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle events in his first national meet since coming back from injury.

The 1,500m also saw Spencer Turner take a bronze before adding silver in the 200m freestyle and three more bronze medals for 100m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 50m breaststroke, setting numerous personal bests along the way.

Michelle Matson won a brace of silver medals in the 200m breaststroke and 200m backstroke.

Catherine Shearn started what turned out to be a superb weekend of swimming with a season’s best time in the 100m fly.

She added more great times in the 50m and 200m fly, also bringing home a bronze medal in 200m fly.

Fleur Parker started the weekend with a silver in the 50m free and a bronze in the 100m backstroke, going on to win another bronze for the 50m backstroke and gold for the 200m backstroke – retaining her British title for the third year running.

Men’s captain Neil Mitchell collected a silver in the 200m breaststroke and he added another the following day with the toughest event of the programme, the 400m individual medley.

Olly Espinasse won his first national title in a nail biting race for 50m fly before adding a silver for the 50m backstroke.

Mark Straw had a great weekend with some season’s best times, while his wife Debs was a great team supporter, taking action photography of the team all weekend.

Ladies’ captain Sarah Adams collected two medals with a silver in the 400m free and a bronze over the longer 800m free.

In addition to the individual medals, Bluefins entered a host of relays for the first time, which proved very successful with three golds, two silvers and two bronze medals.

Their triple winning success came in the mixed combined age 160-plus freestyle events.

In the 800m events a team which included Steve Greenfield, Emma Oliver, Matson, and Straw won.

The 400m winners were Parker, Mitchell, Matson and Turner and at 200m the triumphant team was Greenfield, Parker, Adams and Turner.

The two silver medals came in the ladies’ 120-plus 200m medley thanks to Parker, Oliver, Shearn and Matson and in the mixed 160-plus 200m it was the combination of Adams, Turner, Greenfield and Parker.

In the men’s 160-plus 200m medley a team of Espinasse, Mitchell, Greenfield and Straw took bronze and in the ladies’ 120-plus 200m freestyle, Adams, Matson, Oliver, and Parker clinched another bronze.

As well as the medals, the team also set 11 new Hampshire records, with Davenport getting six of them and Turner two, while there was one each for Espinasse, Matson and Adams.

Previous to their success in Plymouth, a team of 26 Bluefins swimmers travelled to Aldershot to take part in the Hampshire Masters County Championships.

The team had an amazing day, retaining the top club award for the fourth consecutive year.

Basingstoke swimmers swam an amazing 166 individual races and 12 relays, winning 66 individual gold medals, 38 silvers and 19 bronze medals, along with two gold and four silver relay medals.

Not to be content with their medal haul, the Bluefins also set eight new Hampshire County Championship records and an amazing 45 new club records.