The Swim Squad Awards: Performance of the Year

Swim Squad Awards: Performance of the Year.

I thought this would be a good category to include in our ‘Swim Squad Awards’, but then I wondered … how can we possibly pick a winner?

We have worked with more than 150 swimmers this year – each racing multiple times during 2023. Many of them having the race of their lives. Even a conservative four races each gives us 600 great race performances. That’s a lot of strong performances to consider!

I then decided that these ‘Awards’ were not about picking a winner – as so many of you have messaged to tell me (“too many people to pick” / “the whole Squad deserves an award” / “too many to mention”). There have been amazing performances, improvements, inspiration, encouragement from across the Squad.

These award posts will shine a light on some of our athletes – but we’re not actually picking winners.

As the great Ted Lasso tells us …

“For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field”

Anyway, for this category, I narrowed it down and selected a few performances for us to reflect on and admire …

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Jo

Relatively new to triathlon, Jo started the year with a bang at the Southport Triathlon. Jo had an amazing race, winning her age group (by two seconds), coming in 14th female overall, having one of the fastest swims of the day and qualifying for the GB Age Group team.

Boom!

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Dani

A year to remember for Dani, running the Boston Marathon, racing her first Ironman and qualifying for the GB Middle Distance team. Ironman Hamburg was Dani’s first Ironman, coming only six weeks after a super Boston Marathon (3.29). Dani executed a brilliant race, finishing in 12 hours and 16 minutes.

Nice!

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Christian

Christian executed a race to remember at Ironman UK this year, squeezing the best performance out of himself on the day. His first Ironman triathlon, paced perfectly, on a really tough course on a horrible day. 13 hours and 20 minutes he’ll remember forever.

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Garry

Another athlete racing his first Ironman at Ironman UK, Garry had a super race. After a less-than-ideal build up, which included a nasty crash a few weeks out, Garry follows up a super Manchester Marathon (3.33) with 13 hours and 26 minutes of grit and determination to become an Ironman.

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Sallie

Sallie saved her best race performance of the year until September at Ironman Weymouth 70.3. Despite the swim being cancelled on the morning of the race, and torrential rain during the race, Sallie executed a brilliant performance. Powerful on the bike and strong on the run, Sallie then stood on the podium and accepted her Ironman 70.3 World Championship qualifying slot.

Impressive!

Brilliant performances from all of them – and all worthy of being included here!

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As I said in the introduction, we have had so many strong performances this year – it is an impossible task to narrow down, never mind to pick a winner!

If you were not included above, don’t worry this is no reflection on your performance this year!

Well done to all of our swimmers and athletes putting yourselves on the line and racing this year. It’s been a privilege to witness the performances and be involved in them in some small way.

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Keep an eye out for our next award – The Breakthrough Performance of the Year – which will be coming out soon.