A 12-YEAR-old from Salisbury has won gold at the Swim Wales National Championship. 

Samuel Stanford-Jason, who is a pupil at Bishop Wordsworth’s School, was competing in breaststroke at the championships in Swansea.

Samuel, part of whose family hails from North Wales, swims with the Junior Performance squad at Salisbury Stingrays and under the watchful eye of Head Coach, Tim Sadler.

He went on to qualify and compete in six events, achieving new personal best times in all.

A haul of medals made its way over the River Severn including three bronzes in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and the 200m individual medley.

He also managed a very creditable fourth in the 50m butterfly, but the highlight of the competition was winning gold in the 200m breaststroke.

A regular competitor and a master of understatement, even the modest Samuel admitted that he’d, “done OK and had quite a good time in Wales”.

Samuel has been swimming and competing with Salisbury Stingrays for almost three years. He and his squad mates train up to six times a week at Five Rivers Leisure Centre and Godolphin School and the weekly programme includes gym and pool sessions.