Teenage swimming ace reaps benefit of £750 Sports Aid grant

LOUGHBOROUGH swimmer William Bell will only be 18 when the 2020 Olympics swing around, but the freestyle specialist believes reaching Tokyo is still a realistic goal.

The 16-year-old swimmer, who represented Great Britain at July’s European Junior Championships in Helsinki, crushed his personal best in the men’s 400m British Summer Championships on the way to victory.

And after setting a new senior Leicestershire county record, the teenage swimming prodigy said reaching the next Olympic Games is an attainable objective.

Bell said: “The 2020 Olympics is a massive goal for me. It is possible, but I will be only 18.

“The 2024 Olympics are definitely more likely, but 2020 is definitely still possible.

“It feels amazing to represent your country. Ever since I started I said to my mum and dad that my goal is to wear that GB jacket and walk out in front of the crowd and do my country proud.

“I am at the stage now where I am representing GB, so I have to keep training and keep getting better.

Bell’s cause is also being helped by The Nottingham Building Society, who are teaming up with charity SportsAid to support 50 local athletes as they try to find their ‘time to shine’, with each receiving £750 of funding.

Having already donated £240,000 to SportsAid to help athletes buy equipment, travel to competitions and receive the training they need to be the best they can, The Nottingham Building Society are now also helping athletes on the path to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, and beyond.

For Bell, that also included a trip to Nottingham Racecourse to take part in a workshop, joined by world champion short track speed skater Elise Christie and Olympic champion canoeist Etienne Stott as mentors, an experience he was delighted to revel in.

He said: “The funding from SportsAid has really helped me because I have been able to fund my competitions and pay for races.

“I have been able to enter the competitions that I want to race at and get picked for international teams. It has really helped.

“It was nice to see what other athletes are achieving and it was good to hear some advice from athletes who have been there and got to the top.”

• Nottingham Building Society and Harrison Murray teamed up with SportsAid in 2013 to help future sports stars get their time to shine. Visit thenottingham.com to find out more.