FOUR of the county’s best swimmers recently swapped the warm embrace of the pool to taste success in the chillier depths of open water competitions.

Rhys Davies, 16, who is part of Pembrokeshire County Swimming’s (PCS) performance squad, raced to first place in the men’s 1500m Open Water Sea Swim at the Parrog in Goodwick on Saturday, July 1st.

Davies completed the course to win the event in 20 minutes and 53 seconds. 

On the same day, three of his PCS teammates donned their wetsuits to compete in the Welsh Open Water Championships at Parc Bryn Bach, Tredegar. 

Lucy Harding and Louisa Twigg, both 16, raced in the Elite Women’s event over 3000m. The pair swam fantastic races in ideal conditions, with Twigg grabbing third place in a time of 42 minutes and 54 seconds and Harding finishing sixth in 44 minutes 54 seconds.

In the Elite Women's 1500m race, 13-year-old Megan Thomson finished fourth in a time of 28 minutes 11 seconds.

Twigg’s gutsy swim not only earned her a medal, but she also qualified for the British Open Water Championships - held at Rother Park near Sheffield othis Monday, July 31st.

Sam Jones, assistant development coach at PCS, said: “This is a fantastic result for Louisa and the whole team.”   

PCS is a partnership between Pembrokeshire County Council and the county’s six competitive swimming clubs - Haverfordwest Seals; Fishguard Flyers; Pembroke & District; Tenby Dolphins; Milford Tigers; and Preseli Panthers. It provides talented young swimmers with a recognised coaching pathway through to national and international level competitions.

Craig Nelson, head development coach at PCS, and Jones have encouraged their swimmers to participate in open water competitions, with many progressing into national events and those linked to triathlon and Ironman. The rise in popularity of open water events was highlighted by former swimmers taking the plunge in the recent Tenby Long Course event.

Jones added: “Open water swimming now a very competitive environment and popular route for swimmers to develop their skills further.

"Craig and I actively encourage a number of our performance squad swimmers to participate in the open water cycle of competitive swimming as it often rejuvenates and refocuses the young swimmer in training as they have a new challenge to aim for.”