Swimmer Katie sets sights on Tokyo 2020

While most 10-year-olds across the country are getting ready to make the move from primary school to senior school, Katie Crowhurst, from Maidenhead, is looking a bit further ahead.

The year six pupil at Wessex Primary School, in St Adrian's Close, Cox Green, is already a talented swimmer and is setting her sights firmly on being ready to represent Team GB in the pool at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, when she will be 16.

Last month, Katie, who lives near Cox Green, attended the British Para International Swimming Championships at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, the venue that hosted swimming events for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The event, which ran from March 25-29, is the largest open competition for para swimming in the country, featuring 23 different nations.

It is also an important qualification meeting for the IPC World Championship, also to be held at the Tollcross, and featured several household names, such as Ellie Simmonds and Hannah Russell.

Competing under the S13 classification for visual impairment, she made the qualification times in five events, as well as beating her personal bests in 50m, 100m and 400m freestyle and the 100m backstroke.

She was also the youngest competitor.

Talking about her achievements, proud mum Lucy Crowhurst said: “Katie was very brave to take part in this very big event along with the world’s best para swimmers.

“Katie is still quite young and so of course isn’t making the times of the Paralympians, but Katie is on British Swimming’s England talent programme.

“And last autumn she made the times for British Swimming’s World Class Podium Potential Athlete funded programme – but unfortunately wasn’t accepted as they only take athletes from 12 years of age.”

And Katie herself is confident of being ready to move up to the highest levels, and she’s well aware of the effort it’s going to take.

She said: “I swim about six times a week and my best stroke is backstroke.

“I want to compete in Tokyo 2020 so I'm going to train harder and do extra sessions.”