University of Exeter student is Double National Swimming Champion

Dominic is a third year medical student who represents the University, whilst simultaneously training with and representing Exeter City Swimming Club. This summer, he travelled to Sheffield to compete at the ASA Summer Championships, where he swam four races; 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, 400 freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle.

Dominic came out on top in both the 50m and 100m butterfly, with times of 25.11 and 54.39 respectively. These were two very close races, winning by just a margin, but without a doubt two superb swims. He then competed in the 400m freestyle later in the weekend, placing a very commendable fourth, narrowly missing out on yet another medal to add to his tally. His success continued with his team in the 4x200m freestyle relay, whereby he dove into the pool first in his leg and finished in the same position, fending off tough competition.

Dominic is highly dedicated to swimming and his success is a testament to his commitment, both in the pool and his land-based fitness training, whilst balancing his studying with his training. Dom commented “Winning both the 50 and 100m events was quite astonishing. The race plan for the 100m was to be in touch at 50m and power home in the last 25m and it worked! The 50m was a complete shock, most of the guys stand 3 inches taller than me, so to win a sprint event was great. I'd like to thank my Coach Jo John, without whom I wouldn't have been able to achieve anything, and Exeter City Swimming Club, for providing me with all the facilities and help that is required for me to perform at this level.”

To top off the success from his weekend in Sheffield, Dom has consequently qualified for the UK Olympic trials in April up at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow.

The Student Swimming club has seen many successes recently including; Ilya Skliarov 5th fastest in Great Britain in the British Universities and Colleges Sport events and qualifying for GB trials in 2013 with other swimmers competing in Olympic trials. The club caters for swimmers of all abilities and has dedicated coaches, pool times and land based fitness training.

Athletic Union President, Jack Bristow, added “It’s always great to see Exeter students achieving success at the highest level and Dom’s achievements demonstrate that we have great strength in depth at Exeter, across all clubs not just our nine focus sports. The swimming club is a perfect example of how all our clubs cater for people of all abilities, from beginners right up to Olympic hopefuls.”
For more information about the Student Swimming Club visit the club web page.

Jess Coulman, Club Secretary.

For more information about this story contact Andrew Fry.
Date 16 October 2015

Exeter named UK’s top university for sport
The University of Exeter has been named as the Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year 2016, in recognition of excellence in sports performance, education and research.
The award acknowledges Exeter as the best in the country in academia and athletic achievement across a wide range of sports. It takes into account the University’s outstanding support for athletes, very high student satisfaction in sport-related programmes and world-leading research which enhances athletic performance at all levels.