2025 SWIM ENGLAND NATIONAL WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, December 11th – Sunday, December 14th
- Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield, England
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Central
- SwimSwam Preview
- Draft Program
- Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap
- Start Lists/Live Results
We saw day two of the 2025 Swim England National Winter Championships unfold last night from Sheffield with more impressive performances being put up on both the men’s and women’s sides.
After already nailing a new British national record earlier in the men’s 200m backstroke earlier in the competition, 23-year-old Cameron Brooker doubled up with a new lifetime best in the 100m back.
The Bath Performance Centre athlete posted a speedy effort of 49.82 to get the wall first, splitting 23.85/25.97 in the process.
That erased his former PB of 50.88 notched at the 2023 European Short Course Championships. That means his time here represents his first-ever foray under the 50-second barrier, joining countrymen Ollie Morgan and Liam Tancock as the only British men ever to do so.
22-year-old Morgan of Birmingham was next to the wall in 50.20. This was after he already established a new British national record of 49.55 in the heats of this event at this year’s European Short Course Championships.
Morgan ultimately earned the bronze, clocking a slightly slower time of 49.68 in the final.
Jack Skerry earned bronze here in a result of 50.44, just a fingernail behind the 50.32 PB he grabbed in Lublin, Poland.
Maintaining his speed from SC Euros was 18-year-old Filip Nowacki of Millfield.
The newly minted European Junior record holder in the 200m breast tried the 400m IM on for size on day three of these championships.
Nowacki stopped the clock at a mark of 4:08.44 for the decisive victory, clearing the field by over a second.
Chelsea & West’s Edward Marcal Whittles touched in 4:10.30 and Swansea University’s Charles Kershaw rounded out the podium in 4:12.60.
Nowacki’s performance ripped his former personal best of 4:20.90 from two years ago to shreds as he established a new British Junior Record. The teen demolished the former benchmark of 4:18.23 that Matthew Johnson put on the books in 2010, according to British Swimming.
Also scoring a new lifetime best was Joshua Gammon on his way to winning the men’s 100m butterfly.
Opening in 22.59 and closing in 26.90, Gammon stopped the clock at 49.49 to earn the sole time of the final under the 50-second barrier.
Gammon’s former PB stood at the 49.87 turned in at last year’s edition of these championships.
Manchester’s Ed Mildred snagged silver in 50.02 and Jacob Peters bagged the bronze in 50.09.
Gammon now checks in as the #2 British SCM 100 butterfly performer of all time and Mildred enters the rankings in the 5th slot.
Top 5 British Men’s SCM 100 Butterfly Performers All-Time
- Adam Barrett – 49.21, 20216
- Joshua Gammon – 49.49, 2025
- Jamie Ingram – 49.94, 2024
- Jacob Peters – 49.98, 2023
- Ed Mildred – 50.02, 2025
Already a new European Junior record holder in the 400m IM from earlier in this competition, 16-year-old Amalie Smith reaped gold in the 100m IM.
The RTW Monson athlete produced a winning time of 59.68 as the only athlete to dip under the minute mark.
Leah Schlosshan settled for silver in 1:00.21 and Petra Halmai also landed on the podium in 1:02.08, good enough for bronze.
Schlosshan raced in the 200m freestyle on night three as well, throwing down a solid result of 1:54.32 to get to the wall nearly two seconds ahead of the field.
Her time blew away her former PB, a time which stood at the 1:57.10 established at last year’s version of these championships. She is now GBR’s 6th-best performer ever.
Jessica Smelt hit 1:56.20 for silver and Sophie Benn produced 1:56.44 for 3rd place.
In a head-turning performance in the men’s 50m freestyle, 17-year-old Gabriel Shepherd ripped a monster lifetime best en route to beating Olympian Alex Cohoon.
Leeds’ Shepherd unleashed a time of 21.24 to take the gold and demolish the former British Junior Record in the event.
The former benchmark stood at the 22.14 Olympian Jacob Whittle put on the books in 2019.
Shepherd dipped under the 22-second barrier first in the heats here, logging a mark of 21.67.
Prior to that outing, Shepherd’s lifetime best rested at the 22.68 notched over a year ago. That means he hacked well over a second off his previous PB, nearly unheard of in the 50m freestyle in that span of only about a year.
Shepherd now ranks as GBR’s #5 performer in history. Look for a separate post on this teen’s achievement.
Cohoon settled for silver in 21.31 and another teenager in 17-year-old Abduljabar Adama rounded out the podium in 21.44, also surpassing Whittle’s former mark.
Top 5 British SCM 50 Freestyle Performers All-Time
- Ben Proud – 20.18, 2023
- Lewis Burras – 20.88, 2023
- Matt Richards – 21.09, 2023
- Mark Foster – 21.13, 2001
- Gabriel Shepherd – 21.24, 2025
Additional Notes
- Sienna Robinson was too quick to catch in the women’s 200m breaststroke, clocking a time of 2:21.55 for the gold. Behind her were Lilly Booker and Imogen Myles who captured the minor medals. The former notched 2:22.67 to the latter’s 2:24.42.
- Blythe Kinsman, a European Junior Championships multi-medalist, won the women’s 50m backstroke event. She nabbed gold in 27.04, a hair ahead of Isabelle Leigh who was next to the wall in 27.11. Flawia Kamzol also landed on the podium in 27.19 as the bronze medalist.
Serious swim from Gabe Shepherd, his long stroke is more suited to LCM but he hit a mean wall and beat Cohoon underwater. Hopefully he can challenge Luca Hoek at the junior level next summer.
A few bits people may not notice…
Tom Cohoon (Alex Cohoon’s brother) is one to watch, he was a good junior but hadn’t raced for about a decade before this month – 21.9 is a hell of a return. I wonder if little bro making the Olympics and the 50s being added pulled him back to the sport? Somebody to watch, his start and turn was understandably rusty but his speed across the water was eye-catching.
A few age group marks that went down: Patryk… Read more »