The Havant and Waterlooville Club also cleaned up at this year’s South-East Regional Swimming Championships in May, with one youngster in particular, 14 year old Katie Byrne from Waterlooville, coming out in front.
Katie had a six medal haul with two gold in the 200 Backstroke and 200 Freestyle events, two silver in the overall 14 years British Age Group Category (BAGCAT) and the 200m Individual Medley and then two bronze in the 100 Backstroke and 400 Individual Medley.
Katie wasn’t the only one bringing home medals for the HWSC team. The relay squad, which included Ollie Jermy, Will Stanhope, Dan Gilbert and James Faull, took home a silver medal in their 4x 200m freestyle relay race against seriously good opposition. The win also meant qualification for the national championships later in the year.
Katie’s medal wins at the Championships put her in the top three finishes for her club. Coach, Graham Pople, couldn’t be more pleased to share in Katie’s success.
“The youngsters who compete for HWSC work and train hard to move forward in their competitive edge and Katie is no exception†said Graham. “She has continued to work through a demanding training schedule as well as balancing her school work and the normal life of a teenager – so she has done really well. We continue to wish her all the very bestâ€.
Postcode Publications Tim Randall, an expert from Brighton University on developing talented teenagers, says parents with talented children should take note that this balancing of school work and a demanding training schedule necessary for developing teenage prodigies is the norm amongst teenagers who want to spend time on their talent field.