My elite training journey began in Plymouth in 2014; 4 Years whilst attending Plymouth College Boarding School, and another 4 completing my undergraduate degree in Architectural Engineering at Plymouth University. A belief which has stemmed from my parents, I have always ensured that I prioritise education to maintain a life away from the poolside. As much as I enjoy swimming, coaching or a career beyond being the competitor has never interested me, whereas I find maths, physics and problem solving interesting and stimulating, and the Architectural Engineering degree ticked all the boxes for what I wanted to learn at university. This degree showed me a range of different fields within the construction industry and is where I found my passion for energy and sustainability. During this time I also became European Champion, and competed in a World Championship, Commonwealth Games and the Tokyo Olympic Games (which came with a whole new range of challenges due to COVID) but I ended up placing 10th at the games, just missing out on the final of the 200m Butterfly.
In 2022 I changed programmes to the Aquatics GB performance centre in Loughborough, and I applied to undertake the MSc Net Zero Energy Building Services Engineering course led by Mahroo. Again the new level of detail and understanding this course has given me on the function of indoor spaces and building services design and technology has only solidified my decision to pursue a career as a building services engineer. I hope that alongside the next generation of engineers we can continue to steer the direction of the field towards sustainability, longevity and net zero. This year I will be completing my dissertation project looking at decarbonizing swimming pools – something close to heart as the UK faces swimming pool closures all over the country due to unaffordable energy bills. This is a threefold problem; Out of date existing building stock causing exponential energy bills for facility owners, lack of research into swimming pool HVAC systems and support for innovation in this area, and lack of proper guidance and regulations governing the design and operation of the facilities. I believe this project could have a significant impact on how swimming pools are operated, and I hope to use my platform within the swimming community to encourage a positive change.
The MSc course also started my journey with ASHRAE. I am now a student member and look forward to participating in the Net Zero Challenge. I will also be using the ASHRAE standards in my aforementioned research project. After attending the CRC in Oxford this September, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the professionals and listening to the guest speakers, and I would like to remain involved with ASHRAE in the future as I develop my professional career.
In the two years I have been completing my degree (I have one more to go) my swimming career has taken the trajectory that my 9 year old self only dreamed of. My titles now include: Double Olympian and Olympic finalist, World champion, Two time European Champion, double Commonwealth medalist, and triple British Champion. It is a career I am extremely proud of. What’s next on my agenda: Complete one more year at Loughborough, graduating in September 2025 (hopefully with distinction), attend the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore to defend my 200m Butterfly title, and secure a graduate job… piece of cake right?