WINSFORD Swim Team are inspired to produce their best form when the stakes are higher, according to coach Dan Goodwin.

For proof, he pointed to another record-breaking performance at the Swim England North West Summer Championships that yielded 27 medals – eight more than in 2017.

They were shared between eight swimmers.

“It shows our swimmers can do it on one of the biggest stages,” said Goodwin.

“I love watching championship racing; that’s where we want to perform, and I believe our swimmers do when it matters.

“They did it with a smile on their face, and with the support of their teammates when they were stood behind the block and their name was read out.”

Jay Cushen claimed three of Winsford’s five gold medals in the under 15s boys’ butterfly, over 50m and 100m, and the 100m breaststroke.

He was a runner-up too in four disciplines: 1,500m and 800m freestyle, 200m individual medley (IM) and 50m breaststroke.

Adam Wright finished first in the under 12s boys’ 1,500m freestyle and 200m butterfly, adding silver too in the 800m and 400m freestyle.

Winsford sent a 37-strong team to compete over three weekends in Manchester and Liverpool, and six of those made their debut against the best of the rest from across the region.

More than a dozen swimmers made a final, and the team also collected medals in four relay races.

Ethan Wright took silver in the 200m IM and 800m freestyle in the under 16s boys’ age-group category, adding a pair of bronze gongs in the 1,500m freestyle and 400m IM.

A list of medal-winners was completed by Ethan Jones, Henry Oliver (both under 16s boys), Lottie Howman, Izzy Kay (both under 14s girls) and Lewis Turner (under 12s boys).

Goodwin added: “We had some close calls with fourth-place finishes and other swimmers narrowly missing out on a final spot.

“Everybody upped their game massively in the long-course format, which shows how much we’ve improved over the past year.