Para Swimmer Ethan competes with the best in Glasgow!

12 year old Pioneer 79 Para-Swimmer, Ethan Naisbitt competed in Glasgow at the British Para-Swimming International Meet recently.  The competition was also being used for selection of swimmers to compete at this year’s Paralympic Games in Rio.  This was Ethan’s first taste of competition at this level and to compete as our only Para-Swimmer, it was extremely exciting but also daunting at the same time for him!  Ethan’s progress over the last 12 months has been incredible, having only started competing around 18 months ago, his confidence has grown twofold and the fact Ethan has been able to adapt to competing at both disability and able bodied events has been amazing.  Ethan, this season, has also secured a place on both the ‘North West Disability Swim Squad’ - entitling him to extra coaching at Manchester Aquatics Centre and also the ‘England Spotlight Talent Programme’ - where he attends training sessions giving him valuable input from some of the country’s top Para-coaching staff, it also enables him to compete at various competitions under the Talent Programme.

At this particular competition, Ethan was competing in the ‘Open’ age group, so for him as a 12 year old to be within grasp of any medals would be an almost impossible task; Ethan’s main aim was to produce new personal best times, and come away from the competition with some valuable experience.

Ethan competed in 3 events during the week, his first was the 100m Freestyle, entering a time of 1.26.57 - he smashed his personal best time to produce a time of 1.22.18.  This time placed Ethan 74^th overall in the competition on ‘points’ – however in his Disability Category (S9), he finished 16^th.  In the British Junior age group rankings (up to 17 years), Ethan is now ranked 13^th in the UK and 2^nd in the NW.

His next event was the 100m Backstroke.  His entry time of 1.39.93 seemed rather slow after producing a phenomenal new personal best time of 1.33.84, knocking over 6 seconds off in his heat!  Ethan finished 62^nd overall in this event, however in his Disability Category (S9), he was 13^th.  Ethan’s new personal best time places him in an incredible 10^th position within the UK and 2^nd in the NW in the British Junior age group rankings.

Ethan’s final swim came on the last day of competition, entering a time of 39.33 for the 50m Freestyle, he went on to ensure a 100% pb rate at this competition, finishing in a time of 37.78!  Ethan finished 74^th overall and 18^th in his Disability Category (S9), placing him 15^th in the UK and 2^nd in the NW in the British Junior age group rankings.

Hadley Whitehead, Ethan’s Coach commented on his performances over the week:  “It has been a privilege to be here at Tollcross International Swimming Pool in Glasgow to encourage, support and nurture Ethan over the past week.  Ethan, as the second youngest S9 swimmer at this competition, has been incredible both in the pool and on poolside - his ability to produce excellent swims at this level, and to come away with a 100% personal best time improvement is brilliant.  Ethan is a credit to himself, his parents’, and the club, he is always polite and his bubbly personality enables him to overcome many obstacles, including having to be squeezed into his racing jammers!  I would like to congratulate him on his success this week, and I’m sure if he continues to improve as he is doing, his dream of competing in the Olympics will possibly one day become a reality!”

Ethan’s mum, Ann commented on social media: “we are extremely grateful to everyone back at home for their continued messages of support, encouragement and congratulations for Ethan, it has been a fabulous experience for him, and we are extremely proud of his achievements this week”.