Black Country ‘n’ Potteries Masters ladies are on a mission to claim the 280+ relay titles and records. The team of Alyson Fordham, Barbara Boxall, Lindsey Gowland and Kath Tunnicliffe celebrated a golden double at the European Aquatics Masters Championships in Šamorín, Slovakia, wining both the freestyle and medley relays in spectacular style.

Kath Tunnicliffe, chef de mission, explained the plan to take the Black Country to Europe. Already British title and record holders, they relished the opportunity to share the story of the club, compete against the best in Europe, and show the world what ‘ladies of a certain age’ can do.

This time, for the first time, our ladies had competition: the BCPM team lined-up against 8 other 280+ ladies relay teams. With a combined age of over 2,500 years, the teams represented Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. A straight fight for the medals – the winning team would take the European title.

The 4 x 50m freestyle relay was the first event of the day. Gowland led, followed by Boxall and Tunnicliffe, and anchored home by Fordham. The team won gold by an astonishing 11 second margin in a time of 2:18:35 – which was also a European championship record.

The 4 x 50m medley relay followed. Tunnicliffe led out on backstroke, with Fordham on breaststroke, Gowland on butterfly, and Boxall anchoring home on freestyle. Again the team won gold by significant 7 second margin in a time of 2:41:85 – another European championship record!

The BCPM supporters club were delighted with the news from Slovakia:

Amazing! Brilliant! Fantastic! Inspiring! Masterclass!

“You inspire me to keep swimming as long as I can”

With the relay mission accomplished, there was time for some celebration, with the ladies demonstrating their sartorial style away from the poolside. Here is a rare photo of the fantastic four without their goggles!