A FAB four of talented young swimmers showed a stroke of genius to bag a remarkable haul of 17 medals at a major national championship.

Archie McArthur, Aimee Watson, Matthew Garrity, and Lewis Gray were in at the deep end for the Scottish National Age Group Championships after not being able to compete for two years due to Covid.

The four teenagers from Inverclyde Amateur Swimming Club delivered a 'record-breaking' performance during the five-day competition, scooping seven gold, five silver and five bronze medals between them.

Shirley Reford, coach of the club since 2010, says it was well deserved for a group who train hard all-year round.

Shirley said: "I felt immense pride seeing them perform at a high level event and also seeing them smash their personal bests.

"It was one of the best performances of all time by Inverclyde athletes and it was the first time we had swimmers in every event.

"This shows how the club has grown in strength and depth over the years.

"It couldn’t happen without all the hard work that goes on from our coaches and our volunteers who run the club. "

The competition, held in a 50m pool, is a major event on the Scottish swimming calendar with just under 100 different teams attending.

Swimmers have to show off their skills in breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly at 50m, 100m and 200m as well as competing in freestyle races across different distances and individual medley competitions.

Shirley added: "The atmosphere was great and the kids handled their nerves well.

"Some have had a tough time during the lockdowns and this made their efforts even more remarkable."

Clare Beck, who has two kids in IASC and was there to cheer everyone on, said the event was long overdue for all the young people competing.

Sixteen IASC kids competed and another four qualified for finals.

She said: "Swimming was one of the worst affected sports during Covid.

"Pools were closed for months on end.

"Some of the kids who took part in this competition had already qualified two years ago and it was great to see so much talent finally getting the chance to shine.

"Not only were they all performing incredibly well, they also supported each other along the way.

"Swimming might be an individual sport but everybody was always cheering for someone else."