Muncey wins gold at school champs
Jack Muncey is hoping a bright future sits in front of him.
The Kinross High student, a Perth City Swim Club member, was one of the star performers at the weekend’s Scottish Schools’ Swimming Championships in Glasgow.
He admits the execution of his swims could have been smoother but the 16-year-old still powered through the water to claim a gold and silver medal.
The gold success came in the 200m backstroke in a time of 2:10.00, edging second-placed Thomas Coates who touched the wall in 2:10.03.
Asked if everything went to plan, Muncey said: “Not really. It wasn’t my best race but I managed to get there in the end.
“It didn’t feel as smooth as it probably should have, but it’s all part of the learning experience. I managed to get my hand on the wall first, just.
“I was quite confident but I didn’t really move ahead as I expected to. I had to speed up my last 50 metres more than I should have. It wasn’t the best swim but I still had to get it done.”
Earlier Muncey had secured silver in the 400m freestyle - his time was 4:10.63 - with Liam McLaughlin of James Gillespie’s High School taking top spot.
The event was held at the renowned Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Muncey saying: “It’s one of the best in Europe and it hosts a lot of major championships.
“The 400m freestyle wasn’t a very good race from me either. But I probably learned more from it than I would have if I’d won.
“I tried to race the guy next to me instead of following my own tactics. It didn’t quite work.
“But we go back to the drawing board, realise why it didn’t work and re-think it for next time.
“My coach Ann (Dickson) said we’ll learn from it and I know for next time that is not how I should be swimming it. I’m still learning all of the time.”
Muncey was certainly learning earlier this month when he, alongside Perth club-mate Katherine Bailey, travelled to Geneva with a Scottish training squad.
“I enjoyed it a lot more because I knew the surroundings, was used to the coaches and the setup,” said Muncey. “I really had a good time.
“The team environment is there and the morale is high the whole weekend. It was good for the club to have two there and we’re punching above our weight.
“Now I’ve got a trip to Ireland at the end of February before Olympic trials in April in London. That will be my first Olympic trials.
“I’ve never swam at London either so it should be a great week. It will be more for the experience, trying to get some personal bests and making junior finals.
“Every day I just try to be the best I can be. I’m picking up new things from my coach and taking them to move forward.”
The end goal remains to reach the world’s major sporting events but Muncey realises achieving that feat is not going to happen overnight.
He is focused on the process ahead and, importantly, is making sure he has fun along the way.
Muncey explained: “I’ll just try and go as far as I can with the sport and enjoy it as much as I can.
“The 2022 Commonwealth Games are a realistic target at the moment so I’m just trying to work towards them.”