Young swimmers get some ‘frank and open’ advice from Olympian

Commonwealth Games champion Aimee Willmott has become the latest international star to inform and entertain the young athletes at Perth City Swim Club.

The Olympic finalist was called in to give a ‘girls only’ chat over Zoom to more than 30 of the club’s young swimmers during the lockdown.

Aimee, who has launched her own swim skills school, spoke to the girls – age 10 and up – about the challenges of doing competitive sport during puberty and beyond.

The 27-year-old English star, who is now based in Stirling, gave frank and open advice to the club’s swimmers before hosting a Q and A session with them.

Club president Carol McPartland said: “Aimee is a highly experienced and successful athlete who has done everything in the sport.

“She has been running these courses for a little while now and we felt it would be valuable for our swimmers to tap into her immense experience.

“Puberty can be a particularly challenging time for female swimmers and numbers can drop off when girls reach that stage.

“For them to hear how to tackle the issues they might face from someone as frank and open as Aimee was very worthwhile and beneficial.

“The club has been working hard during the lockdown to provide as much positive input to our swimmers even if they are not able to get back in the pool yet.”

One of the girls who joined the meeting said: “It was really enjoyable and interesting.

“Aimee spoke in a very honest way and encouraged everyone.

“She answered everyone’s questions and it is reassuring to know that she has been through it all before and dealt with it.

“It is nice that someone who is a big star in the sport can speak to us in such a down to earth and approachable way.”

Aimee is the latest big name signed up by the club, following hot on the heels of Olympic medallist Jazz Carlin, who carried out a fitness session with senior swimmers.