OUTSTANDING SPORTS RESULTS FROM THE PAST WEEK

The Eagle Has Landed - Navy Swimmers Retain Channel Eagle Relay Title

At 2330 on 20 Jul 2009, 5 teams left the beach at Dover to race to France in Channel Eagle 2009.  The main race was the Inter-Service event between the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force and there were also teams present from Battle Back (an organisation for personnel injured on Operations) and from Welsh University Army Cadets.

The RN Invades France                                 The Winning Team & Trophy

The Navy Team consisted of Mne Chris Bumby, Lt Cdr Alister Witt, AB Gemma Howells, Lt Steve Berry, WO1 RM Nic Vaughan and Musn Caitlin O'Malley.  The race was a very close affair but the Royal Navy managed to keep in front throughout the race to win in a time of 10 hours 5 mins, followed by the Army in 10 hours 20 mins and the Royal Air Force in 10 hours 30 mins.  The University team finished in 13 hours 5 mins and the Battle Back team (the real heroes of the day) finished in 13 hours and 21 mins. 

The inaugural Channel Eagle race was held in 2007 and the aim is to hold the competition every two years.  Having won in 2007, the RN team was determined to keep their hands on the trophy.  The other 2 Services were equally determined to beat the Navy having already lost to them in the Open Water Championships and Pool Championships. This required the Navy to swim harder than ever and in doing so they knocked approximately one hour off their previous time.  This was all the more impressive as the faster time was achieved with worse sea conditions, an invasion of jellyfish and large oil slicks. 

New European and British Swimming Record

At the Great Britain Masters Competition in Cardiff, WO1 Nic Vaughan RM broke the 45-49 British Record for the 50m Butterfly setting a new British Record of 27.03 secs.  He also went one better by setting a time of 1.00.52 in the 45-49 100m Butterfly to set a new British and European Record.

The RN & RM Cycling Association Triumph in the National 24 Hr Time Trial Championship

Report and results of the 24 Hr Time Trial Championships

            CPOPT Sean Childs

The weekend 25-26 Jul witnessed a monumental victory for the RN & RM Cycling Association  team when they triumphed in the National 24 Hour Time Trial Championships.  This longest event in the cycling time trial calendar is a massive test of endurance and toughness where each rider has to cover the greatest mileage they can in a 24 hour period over a fixed road circuit.

The event took place in Shropshire and saw a strong RN & RM contingent put in extraordinary performances with our top 3 riders all placing in the top ten.  As the reigning Inter-Services Time trial champions, the team are no strangers to success.  However this win establishes the RN&RM team as Nationally recognised champions beating club teams from across the country and confirms the RN/RM team as a major force to be reckoned with in the UK.

Position         Rider                     Club                N1

  1           John Warnock      Twickenham CC      497.12

  2           Sean Childs             RNRMCA             492.41

  6           Garry Drew             RNRMCA             461.62

  9           Stuart Edwards        RNRMCA             432.65

 20         Bob Richards            RNRMCA             399.01

 29         Jason Saywer           RNRMCA             373.79

 44         Brian Kilgannon        RNRMCA             337.58

The team were led by the team captain CPOPT Sean Childs. Sean as ever led from the front and notched up a massive 492.4 miles to win the Silver medal. On the day Sean only missed Gold by 5 miles but his achievement was ever more impressive given his recent crash which snapped the frame of his bike and left him with deep bruising to his forearms and legs making aero positioning painful to sustain. The distance represents an average speed of 20 MPH for 24 hours.

In sixth place overall was WO1 Garry (Scooby) Drew. Scooby has been away at sea for 2 seasons and his comeback has been likened to that of Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France.   He clocked 461.62 Miles to be the second RNRMCA rider on the road.

WO1 Garry Drew

Next came CSGT Stuart (Nutty) Edwards who has also been having a storming season breaking many personal best records. Nutty's distance was recorded at 432.65 miles giving him 9th place overall.

CSgt Stuart Edwards

 Fourth RNRMCA rider home was Bob Richards. Bob is one of the 24 hour veterans of the team having completed the distance several times before he was just short of the 400 mile mark with a distance of 399.01 Miles.

Breaking the HMS Raleigh stranglehold, the next rider home was Jason Sawyer. Jase currently serving at RNAS Yeovilton made a storming comeback to cycling with a cracking ride totalling 373.79 miles.

In sixth place was ultra distance rider and world record holder Brian Kilgannon with a distance of 337.58 Brian, another HMS Raleigh rider is no stranger to ultra distance riding and has definitely been here before.

 The 24 Hr time trial involves the riders riding the entire period, on the bike, without any significant respite.  The riders’ success was therefore also reliant on a strong and willing support team who looked after food, drinks and much needed encouragement, especially as the riders’ had to dig deep through some challenging periods throughout the night, and all of the riders would like to take the opportunity to thank their respective volunteer support crews