Matthew Portelli, Year 6 student, qualified for the Malta National Swimming Championship in July – an amazing accomplishment which saw him compete as the youngest swimmer in his events and beat his Personal Bests in all four categories: 200m freestyle, the 200m backstroke, the 100m backstroke and the 200m IM (Individual Medley).
On the first day he swam the 200m freestyle, and the 200m backstroke placing 7th in the under 13 age group. The second day saw Matthew compete in the 100m backstroke and the 200m IM, beating his personal record by 17s and placing 5th.
In June Roma Vrijhof, Year 10 student, participated in the Dutch National Youth Swimming Championships. A competition which sees the top Dutch swimmers aged between 11 and 17 years old compete over four days. Roma ended up breaking 3 Personal Bests and can name herself 8th in the Netherlands in the 100m backstroke, with only 1/100 of a second difference with number 7!
Roma comments: “I have been training all year with the dream of qualifying for the Dutch nationals. Compared to the Netherlands, we have limited opportunities to qualify and limited competitions in Bahrain, but I am grateful to my coaches Yavor Zahariev, Laura Whitehall, Vicky Price and Hussain Ali who have been working very hard on coaching our team members with regular training sessions during the week as well as special training camps during the holidays. This has helped us in becoming better and stronger swimmers whilst having fun as well!”.
Once Roma qualified for the 100 and 200m during a competition in Dubai, things went very fast. Her Dutch club, “De Lansingh” from Krimpen Aan De Ijssel, and her coach in the Netherlands, Martijn Van De Berg, helped in getting all administration in order, her coach in Bahrain, Yavor Zahariev also helped to coordinate her preparation plan.
Roma’s St Chris coaches, including Yavor, “her biggest fan”, and mum Sylvia, who accompanied her to The Nationals were thrilled with the news. Roma continues: “I am so grateful for the support I received, especially my coaches, St Christopher’s School and my parents, teammates, friends and fans!”.