A leading swimmer from the region has her sights set on this summer’s rescheduled Olympic Games after being forced to adapt over the last year.

Emily Large, from Darras Hall, has spent the last year having to adjust how she both trains and competes, but has still had a successful time over the last few months.

“When the first lockdown was announced it was evident I would be out of the pool for quite some time ; this turned out to be 12 weeks!,” explained Emily.

“I needed to find a new way to keep me fit and healthy outside of the water and on land. I turned to cycling 40-50km bike rides from my home six days per week, circuit training six days per week and gym strength & conditioning three times per week through a makeshift gym in my garage!

“It was a strange time as I had never been out of the water for more than 3 weeks since I started competitive swimming at the age of 8.

“I was based at home in Darras Hall with my family, which I will be forever grateful for and we all really enjoyed our time together for so long. The weather also made training a lot more fun and boosted all of our moods massively!

After those 12 weeks however, Emily was able to join several British Swimming Elite Group athletes down in Bath to continue her training.

“It was amazing to be part of the 16 based in Bath and to train with other swimmers of my level and calibre,” added Emily.

“I really enjoyed my time down in Bath, so much so that I decided I needed to be part of the British Swimming National Centre in order to increase the chances of making the Olympic Team.”

Despite events around the world being either postponed or cancelled, Emily was fortunate enough to be part of the London Roar team that competed in the International Swimming League in Budapest, Hungary last October.

“This was a 6 week training/competition scenario where 600 athletes and coaches were based in a bubble formation on St Margarets island.,” she commented.

“In February and March of 2021 I competed in two invitation only British Swimming competitions in Manchester; February being my first long course competition in 12 months!

“All three of these competitions have gone very well for me and all is looking good in the run up to the Olympic Trials based in London from the 14th-18th April 2021.”