British Masters Championships, London Aquatic Centre, 13th - 15th June

Woking Swimming Club delivered a phenomenal performance at the British Masters Championships 2025, collecting a staggering 22 gold medals, 9 silvers, 7 bronzes, and a combined 11 national and European records to finish in overall third place at the iconic London Aquatics Centre.

Relay success was seen throughout the competition, where the club rewrote the record books multiple times in the team events.

Woking’s record-breaking started early in the competition; Gina Heyn, Jennie Clarke, Mike Hodgson and Henry Goodlud claimed a British Record in the 160+ 4x200m freestyle.

The 200+ 4x50m Mixed Medley Relay team of Michelle Ware, Heyn, Hodgson, and Jerry O’Riordan conquered Woking’s first European record of the Championships in an impressive time of 1:58.52

Woking’s women’s 160+ 4x100 freestyle squad — which included Heyn, Ware, Clarke, and Julie Howe — took gold in style, setting new British and European records in the process.

The same women's team went on to claim silver in the 160+ 4x50 freestyle.

Reflecting on her first-ever record with Woking Swimming Club, Howe said: ‘It was an unforgettable experience to swim with such an incredible team of women.  

‘And to set a European record in the London Aquatic Centre - such a great stage - was extra special.’ 

The men weren’t left behind: the 160+ men’s 4x100 freestyle relay (Hodgson, Dean Blackman, Jamie Cunningham, Goodlud) and the 200+ 4x50 freestyle team (Blackman, David Bryant, Hodgson, Goodlud) claimed new British records and the 100+ 4x50 freestyle team (Jason Richardson, Cunningham, Connor Brunt, Max Freedman) took gold. 

Relay records continued to fall to Woking on days two of racing.

A 4x100 mixed medley team of Ware, Heyn, Hodgson and Blackman took down British and European records in the 200+ age group.

Blackman and Hodgson were quickly back in the pool, this time joined by Goodlud and Mark Tuddenham, to claim a new British Record in the 160+ 4x200m freestyle.

For Tuddenham, who swam the first leg, this was his first British Record with his childhood team.

He said: ‘Honestly, I just felt lucky to be on the team sheet. Swimming alongside those three — whose commitment to this sport and all-out effort every swim has always pushed me to do the same — is its own reward. 

‘I got us out clean and kept things steady. Dean and Mike were straight back in after tough swims — but still on form and putting the record under threat. And Henry brought it home like he always does.

‘To be on a team with that much silverware between them, sporting the Woking colours, and to sneak under the GB mark together — not a day I’ll forget.’

Relay medals in the 120+ and the 160+ mixed 4x50 freestyle, the men's 120+ 4x50 medley, the women's 160+ 4x50 medley, and the 160+ mixed 4x100 freestyle team further cemented Woking's dominance in the team events.

Success in the pool was not limited to the relays.

Woking's middle-distance swimmers were the first to claim medals for the team- Howe picked up a silver in the 400 IM and Tuddenham a silver in the 200 freestyle.

Strong swims in the 50m breaststroke saw medals for Goodlud (silver), Bryant (silver) and Heyn (gold), along with a personal best for Freedman. 

Not to be left out, Clarke quickly followed her teammates to the podium with a silver in the 200m backstroke. 

Medal success continued into day two of racing, where Clarke and Tuddenham picked up medals in the 400m freestyle and Howe in the 200m butterfly.

The 50m freestyle saw domination from Woking across the age groups, with Ware and Alex Smith picking up a gold medal in the event, and Freedman and Blackman claiming bronze.

A personal best from Richardson in the 50m backstroke saw him collect a silver medal for Woking. 

The highlight individual swim of the weekend came from Ware in the 50m butterfly, where she dominated over her group to achieve both a British and European record.

Looking back on her swim, she said: I’m very pleased with my 50m fly swim, it’s the quickest I’ve been as a master swimmer and I started in 2011!

‘Big thanks to the Woking team, without them, this wouldn’t have been possible.
  
‘Now the challenge is to break Susie O’Neill’s World Record at the world champs in Singapore!’ 

Exceptional swims were also seen in the 50m butterfly by Blackman (bronze), M. Hodgson (gold) and A. Hodgson, who claimed her first individual British Masters Championships medal (bronze) in the event.

Diving into the pool after them was Tuddenham, who added to his medal collection with a gold in the 800m freestyle, an impressive 13 seconds ahead of silver.

Breaststroke supremacy was again shown by Woking in the 100m breaststroke, with Goodlud claiming bronze, Hodgson gold and Bryant Silver.

The weekends racing was wrapped up with the 100m freestyle, in which medals were claimed for Woking by Cunningham (silver), Smith (gold) and Ware (gold), and strong swims were demonstrated by Tuddenham, A. Hodgeson and Blackman. 

The performance cements Woking SC’s reputation as one of the UK’s elite Masters swimming clubs and sets a high bar for the Masters World Championships in Singapore.