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Background The Wales National Pool Swansea is home to one of British Swimming's three High Performance Centres in the UK. The centre offers a world class service for world class athletes who access the centre at present and for those who will have access to it in the future. Wales National Pool Ltd is fully committed to the Performance Centre and to the views and needs of British Swimming. The Sports Council for Wales is fully supportive of world class athletes and offers a service second to none, that of a full sports science and strength and conditioning programme. The programme also offers a full medical screening service for the athletes. Swimmers who train at the Centre British Swimming appointed Billy Pye as Head Disability Coach for the centre in June last year with a view to increasing its profile amongst the disability swimming world. Billy coaches Welsh disability swimmers Gareth Duke, Rhiannon Henry, Elizabeth Johnson and David Roberts, all of whom are members of Swim Swansea and on the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). Graham Edmunds from Reading, now registered as a member of Swim Swansea, also trains with Billy and he too is on the WCPP. Other Welsh swimmers who travel to Swansea to train with Billy are Kate Arnold from Newport who is on the World Class Potential Programme and Nick Gibbon from Monmouth. Director of British Disability Swimming, Tim Reddish, had this to say about the swimmers based at the Centre, "I believe the swimmers based at the Wales National Pool have the opportunity to produce the performances of their life under the guidance of coach Billy Pye with full support from British Swimming, the Sports Council for Wales and the Federation of Disability Sport Wales. The delivery of the national programme with the support of the WASA and the Welsh Institute of Sport can only enhance the performance of all the swimmers who access the Welsh High Performance Centre." Gareth, Graham, David, Elizabeth and Rhiannon were part of the 34-strong British Team who were selected to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens in September 2004. Another Welsh-born swimmer, Nyree Lewis, who trains at British Swimming's National High Performance Centre in Manchester, was also part of the British Team going to Athens. The Chief Executive of the WASA, Robert James, had this to say about their selection; "What an excellent result for British and Welsh Swimming.Who would have thought a year ago when the Wales National Pool Swansea was opened the success the ASFGB Disability Programme would achieve in such a short time. The twice a day training schedule, professional coaching and support have been the building blocks for success. There were 5 Welsh swimmers and an English swimmer who is registered with one of our clubs, selected for last year's Paralympic Games, great news for all in the Principality. I congratulate the coaches and swimmers in achieving these high standards and assure them of the WASA continued support during their preparation in the lead up to future World and European competitions and, in particular, the Commonwealth Games in 2006." You can read about each of these swimmers in the profiles below. BILLY PYE
Billy has been working at Swansea High Performance Centre as head disability coach for British Swimming since June 2003. He's in every day of the week except Sunday to coach his swimmers. Unbeknown to some, Billy actually coached David Roberts to the Sydney Paralympic Games four years ago. At the time, Billy was assistant coach at Bridgend County Swim Squad and David used to train regularly with him at Llangeinor swimming pool in the lead up to Sydney. This was the first time that one of his swimmers had made it to the Paralympics and this will always be remembered by him as a great achievement. So how did it feel to have five of his swimmers selected for the British team to go to Athens? "Having five swimmers on the Paralympic Team was fantastic. The swimmers went that bit extra which is the difference between being good and being great. It is a great achievement for me, made easy by a great bunch of swimmers." We asked Billy about his reaction to the success achieved by the performance centre swimmers at the Games: "We went into Athens with great expectations. We knew we'd be coming back with medals but didn't expect to be coming home with eleven!! It was a great experience from which I learnt a lot and so too did the swimmers. One of them had competed in the Paralympics before but the other four were "rookies"; it was good experience for all of them which bodes well for Beijing 2008." SWIMMER PROFILES David Roberts (S7) 24-year old Dave Roberts, a cerebral palsy swimmer from Pontypridd, is a veteran to the Paralympics. Four years ago, he had a successful trip to the Sydney Paralympic Games, returning home with a medal tally of 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze. Dave trains full time at the Wales National Pool Swansea. When asked about his selection to Athens, this is what Dave had to say: "It is the highest honour anybody can achieve to reach a Games and I am very proud to have been selected for the second time. I hope to swim to my full potential and I if do all will be good and most of all it shows the skill of my coach to get me to my second Games. Without him I am nothing." David's Medal Success in Athens 2004: 4 Gold Other achievements to date: RHIANNON HENRY (S13)
For visually impaired swimmer Rhiannon Henry it was her first time to compete at the Paralympic Games. This 17-year old already has a number of International and British Championships under her belt and has got a wealth of World, European and British records to her credit. Rhiannon lives in Bridgend with her parents and is currently studying A-Level Psychology, PE and History with a view to carrying on her education at university. She trains every day before and after school. When asked about her selection to Athens, Rhiannon said, "Being selected for the team is a great honour and I am very excited about going. It will be an amazing experience to compete in the Games and to be among hundreds of athletes from all around the world." And what are her aspirations? "I want to swim well and come away with personal best times. And if all goes well, medals too!" Rhiannon certainly fulfilled her aspiration and came home with 2 Bronze medals! Other achievements to date: GRAHAM EDMUNDS (S10)
Originally from Reading, 30-year old Graham moved to Swansea in early January to begin a serious training programme to improve his chances of qualifying for Athens. With only a matter of months to prepare for the Olympic Trials in April and subsequent Paralympic Trials in May, it seemed a tall order and it remained to be seen whether he would prove himself to be a serious contender. But although he came in as a late contender (and the only swimmer not to be on the World Class Programme), his selection for the GB Paralympic Team was testiment to the hard work, dedication and commitment of both himself and his coach in the few short months they'd been training together. Graham had this to say about his selection to Athens; "After watching the Paralympics 4 years ago, I never thought I would go to the next one at the home of the Olympics. It has been hard work for the last 3 years, even harder since January; however, to finally get this far is one of the most exciting things that has happened. Moving down to Swansea and increasing my training has been the biggest gamble of my life, but the best thing is that it has paid off." And what did Graham hope to achieve in Athens? "As it is the biggest competition in the world just going and enjoying myself is a fantastic achievement and I will be revelling in the excitement. My aim, however, is to get to finals in all my events as it means you are well within the top 10 in the world." In Athens, Graham was part of the 36 point strong 4 x 100m Freestyle team and earned himself a Gold medal! Other achievements to date : ELIZABETH JOHNSON (S6)
18-year old cerebral palsy swimmer Elizabeth Johnson, better known to everyone as Liz, trains with Billy twice a day. Two years ago she competed in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. For the last two years, she has been juggling serious training with studying for her A-Levels in Biology, Chemistry and PE. This was the first time for Liz to compete in the Paralympic Games. Liz moved from Newport to take up residence in Swansea last October in order to continue her studies at Swansea University. Liz has come a long way in the last year and her selection to the GB Paralympic Team was a reflection of the hard work and effort she has been putting in and was well deserved. Liz told us about how it felt to be selected to compete in Athens: "By qualifying for the Paralympic Games in Athens, I have fulfilled one of my ambitions. I hope to achieve personal best times and a medal would be a bonus." Her dream came true. Liz came home from Athens with a Silver medal! Other achievements to date : GARETH DUKE (S6)
Nicknamed "El Duche" by his swimming peers, Gareth hails from Cwmbran and this was the first time for him to compete at the Paralympic Games. Eighteen year old Gareth travels over 3 hours per day to train at Swansea High Performance Centre. He trains five times a week at Swansea and three times a week at Torfaen. Gareth said, "It's been hard work over the last 12 months, the travelling to Swansea and to competitions at home and abroad has been difficult, but has been well worth the effort". And who can forget Gareth's winning performance in the 100m Breaststroke in Athens! What an exciting finish! Even more memorable was his moment of glory when he stepped up to the winner's podium to receive his Gold medal. An unforgettable day when the whole nation watched Gareth's emotions getting the better of him. Tissues all round!! Gareth also came home with a Bronze medal and his winning time in the 100m Breaststroke earned him a Paralympic record! At a recent awards ceremony in Cardiff, Gareth scooped the title of the Western Mail Sports Star 2004. Congratulations Gareth! Other achievements to date : NYREE LEWIS (S6) Born in Wales, 23-year old Nyree is now living in Manchester, a member of Stretford Swimming Club, and trains at Manchester's National High Performance Centre under the tutelage of Colin Hood. Like David, she too competed in the Sydney Paralympic Games 2000, bringing home a silver (pictured above) and a bronze medal . In 2002 she competed in the IPC World Championships in Argentina where she collected 2 golds and 1 silver medal. Nyree has competed in numerous national and international competitions over the last twelve months, including the Welsh Winter Disability Championships in November 2003. In the last year, she has picked up a total of 20 Gold and 3 Silver medals. When asked about how it felt to be selected for a second time to compete in the Paralympics, Nyree told us, "When I found out I was selected I thought great, I can relax and get on with the training I need to do to win at the Games. To know I can go out to Athens and improve on what I did in Sydney." And what did she hope to achieve at Athens this year? "My aspirations for the games include improving on my achievements at Sydney, my main aim being to win the 100 metre Backstroke; winning at my other events would be a bonus." Athens Performance |
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