Sophie Freeman, pictured on the right with her medal from the European Youth Olympics
15 year old Sophie Freeman from Colchester has just returned from the European Youth Olympic festival in Baku, Azerbaijan where she was one of 16 swimmers selected to represent team GB.
Sophie built on her earlier success at the British Championships where she won gold to add to the medal haul of a bronze and three silvers in Baku. Excelling at the Butterfly, Sophie helped team GB finish 2nd in the medal table overall with 18 medals coming from the pool.
Her swimming journey began at the age of 5 when on holiday with her family. On their return her parents enrolled her at the Clacton Swimming Club where she quickly mastered different strokes and techniques and within a year was doing inter club competitions. Sophie then joined Colchester Swimming Club where she won British and National titles and set personal bests and records for her age group.
Sophie said: “I had an injury leading up to the European Youth Olympics meaning I only completed 60% of my training, so I completely exceeded what I wanted to achieve in Baku. Over the upcoming months I want to work hard to better myself in the other swimming strokes and in April 2020 qualify for the European Junior Championships. The whole of the GB squad did so well in Baku and we need to keep building upon this success.”
Sharon Freeman, Sophie’s mother, said: “Sophie has totally loved her swimming experience this past year. It has given her even more fire in her belly to continue with the demanding swimming schedule that begins again this September. Her coach from Colchester Swimming Club, Michelle Young has guided Sophie in the right direction keeping her grounded yet inspired to pursue her dream.”
Whilst still doing some training at Colchester, Sophie was given the opportunity of a scholarship at Plymouth College. This has allowed her to develop in the pool, push herself in training and study hard. Remember the name Sophie Freeman, her dream is to become an Olympian and we wish her all the best in her journey to achieve this!
