When I was young, I wasn’t really into anything.. apart from reading. With a stash of Enid Blyton, I’d happily retire to bed, landing light on and hunched over my book, so positioned to ensure every ray of light fell on my well thumbed and aged pages. The creaking of the bottom stair was my signal to go to sleep, my parents bedtime indicating it was already way past mine.

So it is today, with my own daughter following the same pattern, but frustratingly, with an iPod, not a book! She is much like I – my parents moaned about my constant headstands and handstands and gamboles (now known as rolypoly’s!) and my daughter has obviously inherited the same gene: like I, she never seems to sit still or relax, she is always doing something! But that something is starting to develop into something special. Three County Championship titles in three different sports and still only nine years old, she has channelled her energies and focus with outstanding results.

Two of the biggest County titles were won in the same weekend: a tough County cross country race in mindnumbingly cold conditions on a wintry, March Saturday morning (with a devil of a hill) saw her easily race home to first place; this was swiftly followed by 6 sprint finals over the next two days of the most important amateur swimming event of the year – the ASA Swimming County Champs. She breezily completed her tally of medals from this Championship to 4 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze (over 9 events), winning the overall and well earned BAGCATS award for her age group.

Unsurprisingly, after her most amazing weekend, she had THE most massive and heart warming grin, spread ear to ear, wearing a GB Olympic T shirt, signed by local Olympian Lucy Hall AND carrying her collection of medals and trophies.

Thanks Lucy and enjoy the moment Carys..

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