Pioneer 79 swimmer Niamh Robinson had a smashing time as records crumbled at a top competition.

Niamh was competing for her second claim club, Douglas in the Isle of Man in the Swagelok Championships

On Saturday, she raced to a gold medal in the 11 year girls age group at the 400m individual medley in her first swim at the distance.

She recorded a new championship record of 5.47.04 – three seconds faster than the previous record, putting her into third position overall in the North West.

And she smashed another record in the 100m backstroke, again knocking three seconds off her personal best with 1.14.08, setting a new championship record by 0.07 seconds and clinching another gold medal.

This puts Niamh in ninth position within the UK at this event, so it was a phenomenal achievement.

She also competed in the 100m freestyle, where she won silver with a personal best time of 1.09.95.

On Sunday, Niamh competed in the 200m individual medley, taking gold medal and setting a new personal best of 2.42.20 to make her the second fastest in the North West to date.

In the 200m breaststroke she again achieved a personal best time of 3.03.24 swimming to fifth position in the open age group, taking top spot in the 11 year girls age group in North West.

Her final event of the weekend was the 50m breaststroke, an event she won in 2010.

And again she swam to a convincing win, some four seconds ahead of her nearest rival in 40.14 seconds, which puts her into another top position within the 11 year category within the North West.

Other Pioneer 79 swimmers came out on top in their second Sub-League Gala of the season at Chorley.

Pioneer finished in convincing style in first position with 166.5 points, Lancaster second position with 119 points, hosts Chorley Marlins third on 108 points

The next Sub-League Gala for Pioneer will take place on Sunday 8th May 2011 at Salt Ayre, Lancaster.

Meanwhile Pioneer swimmer Charlotte Britland was asked by the Amateur Swimming Association to act as a ‘medal ambassador’ at the British long course (50m) Championships, held at Manchester Aquatics Centre, where all the top British swimmers participated in preparation for the 2012 Olympics.

Charlotte carried gold medals over three evenings to the podium for swimmers including Rebecca Adlington, Hannah Miley, James Goddard, Andrew Brown, Ellen Gandy and Fran Halsall.

Another Pioneer swimmer, William Beavan, 11, was invited to take part in the Amateur Swimming Association North West Regional Development Camp recently.

Swimmers who competed in last year’s National Age Group Championships as 11-year-olds were chosen to attend.

Charlotte, William and Niamh, along with many other Pioneer 7, will be competing in the Lancashire County Championships over the next couple of weekends at Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Anyone be interested in finding out more about Pioneer 79 Swimming Club, contact Susan on (01254) 390793. Information can also be found by visiting www.pioneer79.org.uk