Dolphin talent on the rise

Swindon Dolphin are not only celebrating their return to the pool after five long months of lockdown and pool closures, but they are also celebrating the achievements of two of their young swimmers.

Boys Team Captain, Ethan Gough, has the distinction of being the only Swindon based swimmer to be selected for the National Development Programme, the third step on the Swim England Extended Talent Pathway. In addition, Ella Williams, an S13 swimmer, has also been selected for the Swim England Para-Swimming Talent programme.

Ethan and Ella are a part of a group of talented swimmers at Dolphin who between them took 160 medals, including 69 gold, at the Wiltshire County Championships earlier this year. Lawrie Thomson, Head Coach commented, "When I came for my interview I could see there were a group of talented swimmers who are destined to achieve great things; it was one of the reasons that I was so excited to be offered the Head Coach role. It's been a strange first six months, but we have been keeping swimmers engaged with land training via zoom, quizzes and challenges. Our County squad even designed their own backstroke flags for our return to the pool." "Like other Swindon Clubs, Swindon Dolphin are currently on a reduced pool programme at the Link Centre, but are looking forward to returning to a full programme in September when our other pools re-open. In the meantime it's about getting everyone back to full fitness." Lawrie was appointed Head Coach of Swindon Dolphin in February, having most recently coached at the City of Cardiff. Prior to this at Bath University, Lawrie was part of a coaching team that put three swimmers on the GB Team for the Athens Olympics and he has coached British Junior record holders, multiple junior national medal winners, European Juniors and Commonwealth Games qualifiers. "We are extremely pleased to have secured such an accomplished Head Coach for our Club,” said Sarah Cook, Club Chair. During September and October, Swindon Dolphin will be holding taster sessions across all areas of the club, from Learn to Swim through to competitive squads. We are particularly interested in swimmers who have had or are having swimming lessons and looking to get into a competitive club environment. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact us here.