PLYMOUTH Leander’s new head coach Robin Armayan was delighted with the performance of his swimmers as they claimed runners-up spot at the National Arena League Cup final in Cardiff on Sunday.

Leander had gone into the competition ranked fourth, but they finished a clear second behind Millfield School, despite missing 10 of their top swimmers who were abroad and racing elsewhere for their home nations.

However, the likes of Laura Stephens (100m butterfly), Jessica Jackson and Tom Fannon (both 100m freestyle) produced strong swims to claim individual wins in open events.

Leander also took top spots in the boys’ under-16 freestyle relay, the female open freestyle relay (6x50m) and the male open medley and freestyle relays.

“It was a fantastic team effort,” said Armayan (pictured top). “We were up against strong opposition and to come second nationally is a great result.

“We used this competition as race practice for our athletes who will be competing in Sheffield at the British Swimming Championships and the results were solid and impressive.

“I’m very proud of every swimmer who took part and we, as coaches, feel lucky to train such amazing young athletes”.

Teams representing the West of England made it a clean sweep of the top spots for the first time in 12 years with City of Cardiff taking third spot.