The Grand Prix events take place three times a year. The January competition was hosted by the West District at the six lane 50m pool at the Dolan Centre in East Kilbride.
The Saturday and Sunday morning sessions started with a warm up at 8am with heats at 9am. Finalists were then to return for a 4.30pm warm up with finals at 5pm. A very long day for swimmers and parents if you don’t live near-by. Congratulations to the dedication of both.
Most successful of the weekend was Duncan Scott 15. He made the finals in all three races with a Gold in the 200 Freestyle and the 400 Individual Medley. His Personal Best of the weekend was 5th in the 100 Freestyle with 55.45.
It is a tough competition with swimmers often being unable to take part if they haven’t made the times. By the time a swimmer is seventeen they will be training for 2 hours, four mornings a week going to school and then training for a further two hours five times a week. The commitment of the swimmers and their parents is what produces successful teams. The GB team going to the Olympics was 1/3 Scots. London was 1/6 Scots. What will it be for Rio in 2016?
