Swim Squad Awards: The Most Improved Swimmer

This award – The Most Improved Swimmer – has been a pleasure to think about but so, so hard to judge.

The amount of progress from swimmers has been spectacular. The squad as a whole has improved in both pace and technique, but within this there are some swimmers who have had turbo-charged progress.

So many swimmers have made giant strides this year, transforming themselves. Whether that’s moving up into the next lane, having the confidence to lead the lane, knocking massive time off personal bests, having race results they could only dream about.

Loads of swimmers spring to mind – and I know I’ll be doing a disservice to some by not even mentioning them here.

Here are a few of the standouts.

🔥 Jon, Lane 4 at the beginning of the year. Probably struggling with anything over 100m. Moved up to Lane 3 and then again into Lane 2. A 1.37/100m swimmer now (although it won’t be long before that 1.30 has been broken) and comfortable swimming distances in the pool and open water.

🔥 Garry is another standout. Moving from middle of Lane 3 to now leading Lane 2. Dropping from a 1.45/100m to a speedy 1.28/100m. Consistently strong. Swim confidence is now so much better too!

🔥 Then we have Ange, who started with us in May with a 2.50/100m PB worried about making the swim cut off in her main race of the year (which she did with loads and loads of time to spare). Ange is now a 2.09/100m swimmer, improving every week.

🔥 Luke is perhaps the quickest swimmer I’ve seen from a non-swim background. Smooth technique combined with absolute power make Luke’s 1.18 100m efforts look effortless. Again, dropping from a 1.35/100m to 1.18/100m has been a pleasure to witness.

🔥 Sue has made some big improvements too. When I first met Sue, she would take 30+ strokes per length and swim 100s in around 2.45. This month, we’ve seen Sue go under 2 minutes for 100m for the first time – with a much longer and stronger stroke.

🔥 Nick’s improvement has gone under the radar a little. Coming into the squad with a smooth technique, he was already a good swimmer. Increasing intensity, chasing feet, learning how to make the stroke more powerful and even adopting a new kick rhythm have all contributed to Nick’s improvement this year. A 1.20/10 swimmer now. Definitely couldn’t have said that last year.

🔥 I could mention Peter, Chris D, Ben, Kate J, Nadine, Ian, Siobhan, Sallie, Chris F, Clare, Lisa, Gary, Chris M, Paul, Carl, James, Graham, Stephen, Dani, Matt … the list goes on!

Brilliant efforts all around from the Squad!

👏👏👏