CREWE Flyer’s Ben Buckley scooped a gold medal at the Salford Quays 10k open water swim.

Buckley saw off a strong field to return home in first place in 2hrs 16mins, three minutes ahead of his nearest rival at the U Swim Media City Challenge.

“Ben has had another excellent season for the club and this is an excellent result which is well deserved for all the hard work over the last 12 months,” said Flyers’ Dave Mears.

Grace Farr and Eleanor Bloor were in action in the ASA National Youth Championships at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge.

Farr took 35th place in the 50m breaststroke, making her the fourth fastest in the North West, as she clocked 35.88secs, slightly outside her PB that saw her qualify in 35.85secs.

The championships capped an excellent couple of seasons for Farr, who has progressed to one of the region’s top swimmers and represented Cheshire on a number of occasions.

Her first 50m breaststroke race in 2008 saw a time of 48.10 secs, registering an improvement of nearly 13 seconds.

Bloor qualified for the 50m backstroke in 31.44secs and finished eighth overall in the under 18s girls with a time of 31.65secs.

“Both Grace and Eleanor have swam at the club for around 10 years and have progressed from swimming lessons to competing against some of the best young swimmers in the country ,” added Mears.

“The club is very proud of there achievements this year. “ Eight Flyers swimmers made the trip to Manchester for the annual end of season gala hosted by the City of Manchester at the Commonwealth Aquatics Centre.

The Flyers were in impressive form returning home with 13 medals – eight gold, two silver and three bronze.

Star of the day was Zak Fielding with seven medals, six gold and one silver, while Farr returned with three medals, two gold and one bronze.

Charlotte Rowlands brought home a silver, while Georgia Farr and Emma Duff also managed a medal apiece.

There were also some impressive performances from Nadia Barr, Jack Wilne and Joseph Stather to help Flyers finish as the top club on the day Mears said: “An excellent end to the season for the club and it swimmers, who can now have a well earned break before the new season starts in September.“