August 5, 2005

Ohio Splash returns from Atlanta with gold

by Anthony Glassman

Atlanta--The Ohio Splash brought back a second-place finish in the medium-sized team category at the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics championships, held July 20 to 25.

The team brought 35 medals back to Ohio, including two gold, one silver and one bronze in relay competition.

Of the 31 individual medals, four were for first-place finishes.

William Polk brought home the gold for both the men?s 50 meter butterfly and backstroke, while Todd Radel, who set an IGLA record for the 200 meter breaststroke last year, took the men?s 200 meter individual medley. Amira Jarmakani continued her winning ways, bringing home a gold for the women?s 200 meter backstroke.

The team brought home 16 silver medals and 11 bronze. The second-place finish in the medium-sized team category is Splash?s best finish yet.

The strong showing came despite a dip in the number of swimmers attending. In 2004, Splash fielded 27 swimmers, while this year only 18 participated.

In the 2004 IGLA championships in Fort Lauderdale, the swimmers from Ohio averaged 27.48 points each, while this year, they nearly matched that, averaging 26.67 points.

?In addition to the excellent final results,? said David Spawn, president of Ohio Splash, ?it should be noted that all 18 of our swimmers set new Ohio Splash team records in either individual or relay events.?

Glowing with pride, Spawn continued, ?Additionally, our second place finish in the medium size team category was our highest ever placement in a national championship event.?

?It was very exciting to be a part of this great performance and to watch our team truly come together with great results,? he concluded.

More information about Ohio Splash, including details of upcoming meets and other events, is available at http://www.ohiosplash.org/.

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