Anaconda SC coach Wayne Lock was full of praise after a record number of the club’s young swimmers achieved qualifying times in the Middlesex Championships.

A total of 35 youngsters from the Cally Pool-based club – approximately twice as many as last year – gained county times at the championships, which were spread across three weekends.

“It’s a tribute to a lot of hard work in the pool,” said Lock, the club’s head coach. “And I was particularly delighted to see such a big increase in numbers when the qualifying times had just been made faster than ever.

“The club has built a great work ethos, and that should be a strong platform for future successes.”

Among several excellent Anaconda performances, Alistair Woolley, Max Greenhalgh, Elena Dewhurst and Agnes Benedict all swam personal best times to reach a final, and then broke those records again in their finals.

Lock also commended 17-year-old Alex Tegene, who jumped 21 places from his entry time seeding, knocking 1.30 seconds off his previous best performance in the highly-contested 50m freestyle event.

Meanwhile, eight Anaconda swimmers have already achieved automatic qualifying times for the London Regional Championships, which are scheduled to take place in May.