Swimming Successes – Rebecca Hayward

Some students show a love for their sport by pursuing it to the highest level. One such student is Rebecca Hayward, who trains a total of 19 hours a week, six days a week.

Her early morning swims on Monday and Thursday begin at 5.15 am, there is a little more of a lie in on Sunday when the starting time is 6.15 am! Added to that are the evening training sessions, every week day.

Dedication and hard work have led to achievements. In the 2018/2019 season Rebecca competed in the County Championships. She was awarded 5 Silver Awards and  2 Bronze Awards, in her age group:

800m Free – Silver

400m Free – Silver

200m Free – Bronze

200m Butterfly – Silver

100m Fly – Silver

400m Individual Medley – Silver

200m Individual Medley – Bronze

50m Backstroke – Gold

100m a new county group record for the age group

200m Backstroke – Gold (and new county meet age group record)

4 x 100 Freestyle Relay – Gold

4 x 100 Individual Medley Relay (swimming the backstroke leg) – Gold

In addition to the age group medals Rebecca achieved the following positions in the overall Junior category (swimmers of 14 years and under)

200 Backstroke – Silver

100 Backstroke – Gold and Junior Champion

South East Regional Championships

50m Backstroke – Gold

100m Backstroke – Silver

200m Backstroke – Gold

800m Freestyle – Silver

South East Open Water Regional Championships

2km – Silver

The whole season culminates in the British Summer Championships and English National Championships, where the top 20 swimmers in each age group have the opportunity to qualify between March and May.

Rebecca qualified in all of the backstroke events for the Summer Championships, unfortunately she fractured her radius 3 weeks before. She pulled out of the 50m Backstroke; but competed in the 100m and 200m events the following week. In the 100m event she took the Bronze medal; in the 200m she made the final and finished in 6th place.

Rebecca also qualified for the National Open Water Championships, it was a tough 2km swim in really poor weather conditions, 4 weeks post radius fracture, but a brave attempt finishing in 10th place.

She has had a great start to the 2019/20 season, with new personal best times in 50m and 100m backstroke. Her new time for 50m has taken her to second, in the age group ranking, in the UK