Life Savers stars from Crowborough have scooped individual medals and helped England to Commonwealth Gold.
Four members of Beacon Lifesaving Club: Henry Russell-Ross, Ben Browning, Isla Lawson, and Ben Cusselle, were part of the England team that took part in the recent Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships in Swansea.
They took on athletes from across the globe including Australia, South Africa, Canada, Mauritius and Singapore the atmosphere was electric from the start.
The success started on day one of competition at the Wales National Pool. In the development team Henry Russell-Ross won gold in the 200m obstacles with an amazing personal best and club record, going even faster than he did in the heats to race ahead of the opposition.
Ben Browning teamed up with Asier Lopez (Crawley Town LSC) to snatch bronze in the Line Throw.
Isla Lawson raced to silver with the development girls in the 4x50m Obstacle relay. Henry and Ben matched them for silver in the boys 4x50m Obstacle relay.
There was more success on day two of the championships. Henry secured another new club record and a silver in the 200 Super Lifesaver, while Ben claimed a personal best and his first individual medal in the 50m manikin carry. Both these athletes then helped England secure a silver in the 4x50m manikin carry relay, along with Ben Cusselle who also took his first medal of the championships in the National Carry Relay.
The final day started with the dry and wet Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC). In the wet SERC teams of four lifesavers respond to a scenario they haven’t seen before, applying their knowledge and skills to manage the situation effectively. This competition focuses on initiative, judgment, and teamwork in a realistic emergency.
The wet SERC is always fiercely contested, but the England Development Team rose to the challenge and successfully defended its title from two years ago – claiming the top spot once again! Beacon’s Henry Russell-Ross played a key part in both the team gold from Canada in 2023 and again this year.
Meanwhile Ben Cusselle took gold and is the new commonwealth champion in the dryside SERC. He also secured a silver medal for swimming the heats of the National 4x50m medley relay.
Ben Browning was part of the winning quartet on the development 4 x 50m medley relay and another gold for team England.
Isla Lawson took home a silver medal swimming in the development 4 x 50m medley relay with the rest of her team. At just 16, she is one of the youngest members of the England team and came away from her first championships with two commonwealth medals.
Henry Russell-Ross also took home another individual bronze medal in the 100m rescue medley with a stunning swim and a 3 second PB.
To top it all off, Team England made history by finishing first in both the National and Development categories – a feat that’s never been done before!
Beacon and England Coach, Ben Stevens, said: “In 2019 we won the national team competition in Leeds, then COVID happened. Six years later, we returned with one goal in mind – and we did it. Claiming the championship once again but going one better by winning the National and Development titles.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work alongside. The energy, the teamwork, the determination — this team didn’t just show up, they won the champs. I’m so proud to be part of such an incredible group. The athletes from our club went above and beyond, with new PB’s, medals and new friends from across the Commonwealth – I am a very proud coach!”