Bain strikes gold at Scottish and Irish Championships

CALUM Bain has enjoyed two weekends to remember in pools in Scotland and Ireland.

The former Royal School Dungannon pupil won both the 50 metre free and 50 metre fly titles at the Scottish Short Course Championships in Edinburgh a week before he claimed the same two titles as well as the 100m free at the Irish National Winter Championships.

The former Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games competitor was in fine form at both competitions. The 28-year-old Moy native clinched the Scottish 50m fly title ahead of Edinburgh Uni’s Dean Fearn, while Aberdeen’s Thomas Carswell was third, and in the 50m free final, Bain won in 21.97 seconds, almost half a second in front of runner-up Stefan Krawiec, while Ruairi McKinnnon was third.

And he continued that form in Dublin where he achieved an Irish title hat-trick alongside a host of his Cookstown Swimming Club team-mates, who raced at under-18 level, achieving a plethora of personal bests and medals in the process.

Breanna finished 11th in the 800m, sixth in the 1500m earning a seven second PB in the process and he was 22nd in the 400m with another PB; James also achieved a PB with his first ever sub-two minute 200m and Eoghan raced in the 200m breast-stroke, while Ryan PB’d in the 200m Individual Medley and won bronze in the 50m Fly and silver in the 100m Fly to cap a sensational weekend for the Tyrone club.