The best young swimmers in Pembrokeshire landed a bumper haul of 22 medals, including 10 gold, at last month’s Swim Wales Summer Open.

Charlotte Whalley and Lucy Harding, of Pembrokeshire County Swimming’s (PCS) performance squad, were two of the stars of the meet, grabbing three gold medals each.

Whalley cleaned up in the 13 year-old backstroke races, winning all three distances - 50m, 100m and 200m - with the pick being a blistering 31.30 seconds in the 50m.

Harding claimed top spot in the 16 year-old 200m backstroke, 200 individual medley (IM) and an impressive time of 5:17.29 to secure gold in the 400 IM.

Sam Jones, assistant coach at PCS, said: “The PCS team were fantastic over the seven day competition, in total we had 30 swimmers, 52 top eight swims, 10 gold, six silver and six bronze medals which was not only one of our biggest groups of young swimmers to go to an open meet since the formation of PCS eight years ago, but one of our most successful.

"Myself and Craig Nelson, head coach, are pleased with the progression.”

PCS is a partnership between Pembrokeshire Council and the county’s six development clubs - Haverfordwest Seals, Fishguard Flyers, Tenby Dolphins, Milford Tigers, Pembroke & District and Preseli Panthers. It provides talented young swimmers with a development pathway through to national and international competition.

The Summer Open was held during the first week of August at the National Pool in Swansea and attracted some of the best age group swimmers from around Britain.

Other notable performances included Sean Barrett, who won silver in the 15 year-old 50m breaststroke, bronze in the 100 freestyle and gold in the 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:36.24.

Tomas Webb of Haverfordwest claimed two silvers in the 17 year-old 50 and 100m breaststroke, a bronze in the 100 butterfly and gold in the 200 breaststroke, touching in 2:28.10.

Rhys Davies won bronze in the gruelling 16 year-old 1,500m and gold in the 200 backstroke, hitting the wall in 2:18.99.

Bethan Jones of Pembroke grabbed silver in the 200 butterfly and gold in the 50m butterfly in a rapid 30.08 seconds.

Arabella Haley won silver in the 16 year-old 50m backstroke, finishing in a time of 31.96 seconds. 

Charlie Shiels also raced to silver in the 13 year-old 200m breaststroke in 2:54.48.

Rory Andrews of Haverfordwest also put in a fine display over the week and was rewarded with three bronzes in the 50 and 200m freestyle, plus a strong swim in the 400 IM to hit the wall in 5:31.37.

Swim Wales also hosted a Development Meet, for younger swimmers aged 10 and 11, during three afternoon sessions of the Summer Open. PCS’s young stars showcased some fine skills and Owen Fletcher of Haverfordwest Seals secured a bronze medal.

Jones added: “We came home with one bronze medal, nine top eight swims and 17 swimmers taking part. The future is bright for PCS.”