I was selected to compete for the England Talent Squad Phase 3 in Italy - I had a great competition, winning 1 silver medal and 2 bronze medals! Setting some great pb times in the process.
Later in 2015 I was selected to compete for the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa. I competed in: 50m/100m Breaststroke and 200m Individual Medley where I successfully went on to swim in the A Finals, the 50m Backstroke and 100m Butterfly where I qualified for the B Finals. Whilst in Samoa, I celebrated my 16th Birthday, I had an extremely memorable trip and am extremely grateful to the Isle of Man CG Association for giving me the opportunity to compete for the Island at such a wonderful location.
In September 2016, I began my studies at Mount Kelly School in Tavistock, Devon - Here I have had the opportunity to train with some fabulous swimmers and under some of the best Coaches. Whilst swimming at Pioneer 79 Swimming Club in Accrington, my training week consisted of 6 x 1.5hour sessions in the pool and 2x1 hour land training sessions. By moving down to MK, I have stepped up my training considerably to 9x2 hour pool sessions and 4x1 hour land training sessions. At first I was finding it extremely difficult, but I competed at the Winter Nationals at the end of 2016, achieving some great personal best times and I also medalled.
Unfortunately, during 2017 I suffered an injury to my left shoulder, I underwent endless physio sessions and eventually, when my right shoulder too became injured I was left no option but to seek further medical advice. I saw a consultant who did various tests and scans, but was advised to reduce my competition programme and adapt my training until both shoulders recovered. This affected me not just physically, but also mentally as I was unable to continue my training and competing in the way I had hoped with my move to Mount Kelly School. I felt extremely frustrated and disappointed. I did manage to compete in a few events during the season, however at these competitions, I had to withdraw from a number of events in order to prevent any further unnecessary injuries.
At the beginning of July, just as everything was starting to come back together again, I was selected to compete in Croatia for the South-West of England and was due to travel to Lanzarote to take part in a swim camp to prepare for the British Summer Championships in Sheffield. Unfortunately, just days prior to travelling to Croatia I suffered a devastating medical issue - my plans, my progress and everything suddenly came to yet another standstill. Since the 2014 Commonwealth Games, I had been working towards my goal of being selected to compete for the Isle of Man once again on the Gold Coast in Australia. I was told that unfortunately from that moment, I wouldn't be able to swim for a number of months, until I had undertaken a number of tests - which as you can imagine, after having suffering injuries throughout the season was a huge blow.
It was extremely difficult for me during the summer to actually stay away from the pool - I travelled to and from Plymouth with my dad to have a variety of tests, I even travelled over to Sheffield to spend a day with the Team at the British Summer Championships - I was determined to be back in the pool again as soon as possible.... I used the summer to recharge myself both physically and mentally - I completed my Level 1 Swimming Teaching Course, worked hard in the gym and had a lot of 'family time'.
Upon my return to school in September, I was still unable to train in the pool, until out of the blue I received the welcomed news clearing me of any issues and allowing me to get back in the pool and train/compete. This was the best news ever! In November, I competed at the English Schools Swimming Association National Relay Finals, it was great to be back in the pool competing again, and I even managed to catch up with a few of my friends from Pioneer 79 who were also competing for their respective schools (and my younger brother!).
Me and my brother...
Pioneer 79 Team-mates
Mount Kelly Team-mates
In November, I was selected to compete and travelled to South Wales for the final of the Arena League for Team Mount Kelly. It was a great feeling to be in a position to compete for the team and earn some points again. Our team won the final and next year, we will take part in the Premier League for the first time....
In December, I competed in the British Winter Championships - this competition is usually short course, however this year it had been changed to Long Course and was being used as a final opportunity for swimmers to be selected to compete for England at the Commonwealth Games. Therefore, as you can imagine the quality of swimmers was extremely high, the competition took place over 5 days just before Christmas in Sheffield. Having achieved qualifying times in 50m/100m/200m Breaststroke, 50m Fly and 200m Individual Medley I took each event as it came. Although my times were not quite on my personal best times, they were very close. Both myself and my coach, Emma Collings-Barnes were very pleased with my results. In the final session, it was fabulous to watch my Pioneer 79 Swimming Club team mates win a silver medal in the Mens 4x100m Medley Relay, it was fully deserved and they were all really excited. Straight after, the very last race of the competition, I was competing in the 4x100m Medley Relay Team for MK. We had qualified fastest for the final and swam in lane 4. In the final, the time I swam on the breaststroke leg was almost a second better than the time I swam in my individual race, so I was extremely pleased, we all had a great race, making sure our take-overs were perfect. Not only did we win the gold medal, but our team also set a new Mount Kelly Open Medley Relay record which was brilliant! It was a great end to a very difficult year.... roll on 2018!
Me and my GOLD medal!!
Me and the Pioneer 79 Boys 4x100m Medley Relay Team who won silver!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment