Three weekends in a row saw 11-year- old Phoenix Youth swimmer Ben Roberts travelling to Sheffield and Coventry in search of national qualifying times and gold medals - and what a success he had. Ben competed in the 800 metre freestyle in Sheffield, where he was the youngest swimmer accepted into what was an extremely competitive competition. His result saw him gaining a national qualifying time, a gold medal and beating many older swimmers in the process. However, this achievement was to be outshone over the next weekend when Ben competed in the Midland Age Group Championships at Coventry. Here the best of swimmers in the East and West Midland areas competed to be crowned the best in the region. Ben was quite outstanding, entering 11 events - the maximum number available to his age group - and coming away with nine gold medals and placings in the finals in the remaining two events. More remarkable was the fact that many of these events were won by a vast margin and as a result he was crowned the top 11-year-old boy at the competition. On the way to this success he also gained national qualifying times in the 200 metre backstroke, and 200 metre and 400 metre individual medleys. He now goes forward to represent the club at the National Age Group Championships held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, at the end of July, where the top 20 to 30 swimmers in each age group will be competing. | 
