Melksham swimming coach wins three medals at European championships

A swimming coach in Melksham has won three medals for Great Britain at the European Masters Short Course Swimming Championships in Poland

Rebecca Smith achieved a silver medal in the 100m Freestyle with a time of 1:02.26 and bronze medals in the 200m Freestyle, completed in 2:18.02, and the 400m Freestyle, completed in 4:53.81. She competed in the female 45 to 49-year-old category.

Rebecca, who is a swimming teacher at Melksham Community Campus, said, “I was also pleased with the times I swam in these races, as they are faster than I have achieved for a couple of years. It was really great, as I was seeded to come third in one race and everything else was fifth or lower.”

The championships took place in Lublin, Poland. “I had never raced or visited Poland before, which was one of the attractions for entering the competition,” said Rebecca.

“The venue was amazing; the pool was great, both to look at and to swim in; the facilities were very modern and the pool had a whole width of it with an underwater viewing window so you could see under the water. It was a friendly competition and all the competitors were supportive of each other.

“I nearly didn’t make it, as I missed my flight out on the day before due to misplacing my passport between security and the boarding gate, so I had to go back and find it and then book a flight later in the day to Warsaw instead of Lublin, where the competition was,” she said.

“I’d also picked up the season lurgy just before leaving so was really pleased I managed to swim as well as I did.”

Rebecca also competed in the 50m Freestyle, finishing fourth in her age group.

She has competed in several national and international events for Great Britain. In 2024, she won a silver medal when competing in Fukuoka, Japan.

“The medals I won in Poland are the only medals I have won at international events this year, but I have competed in several national events in London in June, Sheffield in October and open water in Rotherham in the summer and won medals at all of them in my age group,” she said.

Next year, Rebecca hopes to travel to Slovakia to compete in the European Masters Long Course Championships in the summer.