Emma Smithurst (16) has been awarded a silver level Olympic Passport courtesy of the British Olympic Association, which allows her to train for free at Ripley Leisure Centre.
Emma, who is on the British Swimming Association’s “World Class Swim Development Programme”, has been swimming competitively since the age of 10 and is currently training for the European Junior Championships in July 2007.
Over the past 12 months Emma has competed at the British Championships, where she won a bronze medal for the 200m fly stroke. She also attended the Queensland State Championships in Australia as part of a month long tour in December 2006, where she achieved a gold in the 400m Individual Medley, seven silver medals and one bronze medal. In addition to this Emma hopes to attend trials for the 2008 Olympics in March.
Jenny Hedgecock, General Manager for Ripley Leisure Centre explained, “We were really pleased when Emma nominated us as her preferred pool for training. She has attended swimming lessons with us since she was five and we have been very impressed with the amount of dedication she has shown putting in at least 22 hours of training a week starting as early as 5.30am, six days a week and managing to complete her GCSEs as well.
“Her Olympic passport allows her to both swim and use the fitness gym free of charge at Ripley Leisure Centre for a year and we hope that her performance will enable her to renew it next year with a gold level passport.”
Emma is currently looking for sponsorship to help pay for travel, accommodation, equipment and training. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring Emma please contact Ruth and Andy Smithurst on 01773 513860.
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For further information about this press release please contact Esther Horsley, Marketing Officer on 01773 834817 or email estherhorsley@dcleisure.co.uk.
News release issued by Lisa Garnham, PR and Communications Manager, Amber Valley Borough Council (01773 841655).
