Carys claims gold and silver medals for Wales
When Carys Thomas recently returned from a week in Orio, Spain, she carried with her a gold medal, plus three silver medals, as reward for her successful involvement with the Welsh team in the Surf Life-Saving Championships held there.
Carys has been involved in what is known as 'open water swimming’ for some time now and she is also a member of the Pembrokeshire County elite swimming squad as a very good all-round swimmer who excels at indiv
idual medley and now specialises in the 800 metres freestyle.
Other sports
Not content with that little lot, however, she is also adept at hockey with the Fishguard and Goodwick Ladies' team, where she plays in defence or midfield - and is a Young Ambassador with West Wales Hockey, charged with the role of encouraging others to take part.
Throw in a liking for netball, cross country and long distance running and the question has to be asked,
"How on earth does she do it?"
And the answer is that Carys is very good at prioritising and she has the total support of her family.
Family matters
"My parents, Glenda and Tim, take me and my younger sister Elin (another open water swimmer) wherever we need to go and my grandfather, Norman Thomas, is also very supportive of what I do.
"Mum used to play hockey when she was younger and still enjoys running whilst dad used to swim a fair bit and spends time on the water - but in a boat!
"They take it in turns taking me to my swimming sessions from our home in Newport to
Haverfordwest Leisure Centre and three of those trips have us up very early for a start in the pool at 6am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus evening sessions, from (6pm to 7.30pm) every Monday and Thursday - and Saturday mornings too."
"Sometimes I manage to have a lift in to Haverfordwest fro
m Fishguard with Isobel John, who is also a squad member and can drive. I suppose the worst thing for my parents is that they have to wait around for me - and make sure that I am ready for school at Ysgol y Preseli on time"
Carys has Tuesdays and Sundays off and it is typical of her that her thought about those rest days is the fact that it affords Glenda and Tim a break - and praises their yeoman chauffeuring to the hilt!
Hard work pays dividends
Individual training sessions involve a warm up in the gym and some pool-side stretching before the actual swimming begins in earnest.
"We do aerobic sets, pace sets and build sets, which are the toughest because they are very deman
ding as we swim 5,000 metres in two hours, and that's 200 lengths of the pool - and sometimes we raise this to 7,000 metres, another 80 lengths on top of that."
The open-air swimming season sees three age group events in Swansea, including the Summer and Winter Nationals as part of qualification for the Welsh team.
"The maximum swim length is 3,000 metres and it is entirely different from swimming indoors because it is physically tough as everyone scrambles for their places around buoys and is a bit like being in a giant dish-washer!"
Early start – and mutual respect
Carys began her swimming at Cardigan Swimming Club when she was about four years old, under the watchful eye of mum Glenda and eventually she joined Fishguard because of easier travel – and eventually was good enough to join the elite squad that was coached then by Paul Dowey and is now coached by Craig Nelson and his assistant, Sam Jones.
“I have always been lucky to have good coaches,” admitted Carys, “and it helps because we need the right mixture of expert teaching and knowing when it is time for us to let off a bit of steam with some fun activities.
It seems the respect is mutual because Craig Nelson told us,
“Carys works as hard as anyone in our squad and provides a great example of commitment to new members because she never misses a session, is eager to learn and works so hard that she deserves her success.”
High praise indeed from a coach who sets high standards and expects nothing less from his youngsters!
Open air debut – and lots of money raised for Noah’s Ark
Carys first took part in open-air swimming at the Dinas Cross Regatta when she was 13 and recently put her expertise to great effect when she raised funds for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Appeal by being sponsored to swim the 2.5 miles from Newport to Dinas – which she completed in only 55 minutes and raised the magnificent sum of £2,000!
She also took part in the swimming component of the Long Course Weekend at Tenby after previously taking part in the children’s event but this year competing in the one-lap race for ladies and finishing as first lady.
This year also saw Carys competing in the Welsh Open Water Championships and again swam superbly to come third lady overall and first past the post in the girls’ under 17 section - and this performance undoubtedly helped seal her invitation to join the rest of the Welsh team in Spain
International honours
Her gold medal was achieved as part of the four-man (or women) relay team which had to work hard together with some having to swim out to a platform and then another swimmer to effect a rescue.
It demands total commitment to the team and Carys was understandably jubilant – and there were three silvers to go with it as she did well in the individual swim, the ‘Tube Rescue’ with Grace Morgan (Porthcawl) and the ‘Board Rescue’ with Kelsey Peterson (Rhoose) as her partner.
Her next challenge now comes in August when she travels to Sheffield for the National Open Air Swimming Championships at the superb water complex at the Rother Valley Lake and she is training really hard towards that competition.
And there’s one thing for sure – she will go there determined to do her best, which will see her flying the Pembrokeshire Flag with distinction.
We wish Carys Thomas every success because she is a great advert for all that is good in our sporting fraternity, her family, club and chosen sport – and long may this modest and unassuming young lady continue to enjoy her swimming!