Olympic Gold Medal winning Swimmer Visits Local Swimming Club

British Olympic champion Freya Anderson MBE visited local swimming club Hoylake ASC on Saturday 29th January. Olympic swimmer Freya Anderson, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2021 Games from the 4x100m medley relay, spent 3 hours at Calday pool inspiring and coaching the next generation of swimmers.

Anderson grew up on the Wirral and joined Hoylake when she was nine, her coaches saw great potential and helped her improve, she then went on to Wirral Metro, a performance based club also based on the Wirral, and from there she only continued to get better. She joined the British Swimming team in 2016 and since then has been representing Great Britain all over the world!

Freya Anderson came to the Wirral last weekend to take some training sessions with Hoylake ASC and answer some questions that the swimmers had. So many of the young swimmers found this very inspirational and said that it encouraged them to try harder in training. Even some parents commented on the amazing opportunity it was for them and their children to meet a Olympic swimmer that has stood in their place at their age, one parent said "my children were so excited for this and loved to have the opportunity to meet such a successful athlete, I think this has been a very inspiring moment for them.” 

Anderson showed the swimmers at Hoylake some drills to help them improve their Front Crawl during three sessions. Some of these drills were new to the swimmers so there was a lot of fun trying to perfect them but Anderson was there ready to correct and help if someone needed it. I sat down with Anderson to ask her some questions.

What is your favourite swimming pool that you have swam in?

“Probably a pool in Budapest that I competed in for the European championships but also some in Australia and Canada.”

Have you made lots of friends through swimming?

“Yes, I am still friends with some people I met when I was your age (10-15) and I even have friends from around the world.”

Tell me about how you got into swimming and how you knew it was the sport for you?

“I was very shy when I was younger but when I started swimming I became more confident because I was making more friends. Swimming was the sport I enjoyed the most.”

What do you like doing in your free time when you're not swimming?

“I go out for coffee and lunch with my friends and I also go horse riding with my friends too. I also enjoy watching Netflix. I am currently watching Below Deck.”

And for those of you who are worried about having to eat super healthy don’t worry Anderson’s favourite food is pizza it's not all about eating health all though that is important , she also said “I remember training here (Calday Grange Swimming Pool) on Sunday nights and then going home and having a roast dinner”

After some Q&A Anderson showed the swimmers her Olympic gold medal, and in case any of you are wondering what it is like - it is really heavy! The swimmers really enjoyed being able to see and hold an Olympic medal one said that “It was really magical and the gold didn’t look how you think it would, but even better,”

If you are looking for any encouragement or tips to getting back into your sport then here are some words of wisdom from Anderson:

“Don't panic! I was out of the pool for 10 weeks, you have to remain calm and know that you can get back to the place you left off” 

She also gave some advice to those competing for the first time since COVID started, “Enjoy it, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you will get nervous but you can use this for excitement, enjoy it- keep training and believing in yourself and your coaches, I haven’t had a pb (personal best) in one of my events for a few years but you just have to believe, I know it's cliche but that’s what it is.”

Freya Anderson’s visit has inspired so many people, has it inspired you?

Anderson is also part of team Speedo, Speedo is a company that specialises in the world of swimming. Speedo have also released ‘Swim United’ where they have committed to “helping kids who need it the most, to learn to swim and find their joy in the water” - Speedo united website. Anderson commented on this saying “it is such a great thing especially after COVID, it is a really good thing they have set up.” For more information on Speedo’s commitment visit their website.

Information on Hoylake ASC wimming club can be found on their website.