Why Ella is the pride of Worthing Swimming Club

Ella, 16, who has just finished her GCSEs at Davison High School, will swim in the 16 years’ 100m and 50m breaststroke events at the championships, which will see England’s best young swimmers compete between August 2 and 5 at Ponds Forge in Sheffield.

Her qualification comes after successful runs at the county and regional championships over the past two years.

Ella started swimming when she was seven and trains for around 10 hours per week, clocking up around 25km at Splashpoint and Windlesham House School, with additional sessions at the 50 metre K2 pool in Crawley for long-course practice.

She couples her time in the pool with land training sessions involving strength and conditioning exercises.

The last swimmer from Worthing SC to reach the English nationals was Louise McCallum in 1997 – she competed in the same events.

Ella said: “This is an amazing opportunity for me to test myself against the best swimmers in the country. The club has been very supportive throughout my journey and I am proud to be representing them at national level.”

Chris Luesley, Head Coach at the club, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and the result of Ella’s hard work and determination over a number of years. The whole club is behind her, and she is a great role model.”

For more on the club visit www.swimworthing.co.uk