Fleur Lewis Is A National Champion!
Barnet Copthall Swimming Clubs’ very own Fleur Lewis is now a Senior British Champion, after completing the Women’s open 1500 metre freestyle with a very impressive time of 16.45.51, at the British Championships in Sheffield.
Fleur Lewis Profile
Age: 18
Latest Competition: British Championship (5th-10th April 2022) in Sheffield
Result: 1500m Freestyle Senior British Champion
Main Stroke: Distance Freestyle & 200m Butterfly
Coaches: Rhys Gormley & Christine Green
Fleur began swimming lessons with GLL at Finchley Lido Leisure Centre from a young age and then transferred to the competitive programme at Barnet Copthall when she was about 9 or 10 years of age. Fleur’s’ progression was clear to see as she progressively moved through all of the class groups at Copthall into the senior group. The impressive progression through Copthall class groups then translated to a competitive environment as Fleur was very successful in youth national competitions. Between the ages of 12-15 Fleur won County and Regional championships alongside other impressive feats such as; becoming national age group champion on the 200m butterfly, 2nd place finish on the 800m, and 1500m free within national competitions respectively. Fleur also became youth national champion and 12th in Europe respectively at the age of 16, which showcases the extent of Fleur’s natural talent from a young age.
British Swimming Championships 2022 (Sheffield)
The British Swimming Championships took place between the 5th and 10th April at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield. Fleur competed in events across the week, which was kick-started on day 2 (6h April) with a 2nd place finish for the Women’s open 800m freestyle, with a very respectable time of 8.49.80.
Fast forward to the final day of the championships and Fleur had her eyes set on becoming a national champion. After years of dedication, hard work, and pure determination to succeed, Fleur reaped the rewards by securing a 1st place finish in the women’s open 1500m freestyle, with an unassailable time of 16.45.51. The honourable achievements by Fleur throughout the week have been significantly supported in the build up to the championships by Barnet Copthall’s swimming club coaches Rhys Gormley and Christine Green. Rhys has worked closely with Fleur from a young age, and has been extremely proud of Fleur’s achievements to date.
“Fleur has worked extremely hard over the years to achieve this level of well deserved success, many morning sessions at 5.15am before school followed by evening training sessions at Barnet Copthall Leisure Centre completing between 6 kilometres and 10 kilometres a training session and between 50 km and 70km a week for the past 5-6 years”
Rhys Gormley (Barnet Copthall Swim Club Head Coach)
Barnet Copthall Swimming Club Successes
Barnet Copthall had a total of 16 swimmers qualify for the British Championships in Sheffield with many of the swimmers achieving personal best times and following in Fleur's footsteps. Notable other performances came from Kai Carlos (17) who was 3rd in his age band on the 1500 freestyle and 7th on the 800 freestyle , Jake Tomkins (16) 3rd in his age band on the 1500 freestyle and 3rd in the 800m Freestyle.
Most of the senior swimming group at Barnet Copthall including Fleur Lewis have been generously supported by the GLL Sports Foundation which has provided assistance with training venues and memberships to the gym to assist their swimming performances.
Fleur will be moving to Leicestershire in September as she enrols on the National Performance programme at the prestigious Loughborough University. We look forward to seeing Fleur progress through her swimming career and wish her all the best with the next adventure of University sport.
For more information on Barnet Copthall swimming Club please click on the link below
https://uk.teamunify.com/team/bcsc/page/home