Fins Competitive Swim Club
Lothian Region Distance Meet – 3 May 2026
Four Fins’ swimmers made the trip across to the Mercat Gait Centre, Prestonpans, last Sunday to compete in the Lothian Region Distance Meet.
This meet is a bit different from most in that swimmers are not split into age groups, but swim in heats based on their entry times, so it is really a time trial and the finishing positions have really no relevance.
The main purpose of the meet is to allow swimmers to try to improve on their previous times and three of the swimmers certainly took advantage of that, with the fourth swimmer swimming the event for the first time.
So, this was an excellent outing with 100% improvement being achieved, with three of the swims impacting on the Fins’ all-time top 50 short course rankings, two improvements plus one entry, and the other swim getting closer.
The swimmer to reach the highest position in the rankings, and the one with the largest PB was Ethan Pate, 15 years male, in the 1500m freestyle. Ethan’s time of 18 minutes 7.41 seconds was a 42.92 second PB and moves him up the rankings from 30th to 18th.
Also swimming in the 1500m freestyle was Caleb Gray, 15years male, who recorded a time of 18 minutes 19.86 seconds, which was a 31.51 second PB and moved him up the rankings from 28th to 22.
The new entry to the rankings was Sadie Paton, 14 years female, in the 800m freestyle. Sadie’s time of 11 minutes 22.88 seconds meant she entered the rankings in 48th place. This however, means we lose a swimmer and that is Lesley Sinclair, who set her time at Dalry in May 1985. The new time now required for entry to the event is 11 minutes 35.26 seconds.
The remaining swimmer was Cole Gray, 14 years male, in the 400m freestyle.
Cole recorded a time of 4 minutes 57.04 seconds, which was a 6.22 second PB, but leaves him just short of qualifying for the rankings by 8.98 seconds, which is very doable when Cole gets the opportunity.
Well done again, that is excellent.
Ken White
Press Officer