At 16 years of age Isabel Johns is one of the very talented young swimmers to emerge in Pembrokeshire and is part of the county elite squad, coached by Paul Dowey, who has qualified to compete in the forthcoming National Championships held by the ASA at Sheffield.
 
She is one of five swimmers who achieved this very high level and will compete in the 200 metres backstroke, her best discipline, although she is also a more than competent performer in freestyle and butterfly, followed to a lesser degree by breaststroke.
 

National standard achieved – and total family support

 
Isabel achieved the required National Standard when she competed at an event in Swansea and hadn’t recorded a personal best for a while. There was no indication of it coming in the heats but she had a good start in the final of the 200 metres backstroke, found her rhythm and achieved a time of 2 minutes 24 seconds when the National Standard was 2 minutes 25.5 seconds!
 
Ask Isabel about support and she would be quick to sing the praises of her parents, Lorna and Francis, who are totally supportive, even to the ferrying her from the family home in Fishguard to Haverfordwest Leisure Centre for the 6am starts three times a week!
 

Total dedication needed

 
These sessions of one and a half hours are ear-marked for Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and then she has to be back ready for school work at Ysgol Bro Gwaun.
 
Add in further two-hour sessions every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, plus a similar stint on Saturday mornings and it is easy to see how committed Isabel has to be!
 
Her weekly target is 15 hours of swimming and 4,000 metres completed in the pool – and then there is the travel to and from events like the Sheffield trip, which requires an overnight stay, and other commitments to make sure she is a very busy young lady.
 

Other sports played – and a memorable moment in Scotland!

 
Surprisingly, Isabel still finds time to play basketball for a West Wales team as a means of recreation and plays goal defence for the school netball team which recently jetted off for a tour to North America, which took in New York and involved three matches in Toronto.
 
Back on the swimming front, Isabel learned to swim in Haverfordwest and whilst on holiday in Scotland at the age of five created something of a memorable day as she completed her first full length in the local swimming pool and then shortly afterwards celebrated her success by jumping into a nearby pool which was more shallow that Isabel thought and she broke her leg!

 
Hard work brings silverware

 
Isabel eventually moved to Fishguard Fliers Swimming Club and by the time she was seven was competing in club championships. There was to be no instant success but hard work and commitment saw her gradually pick up the silverware on more and more occasions.
“My first winner’s medal was a 200 metres butterfly race,” admitted Isabel, “but it was in a very slow time!
“At that time I didn’t really enjoy doing the back stroke as much as some of the others, because I hated water going up my nose but now it is my best stroke and I am really looking forward to swimming it in Sheffield.”
 

Great losses to swimming

 
On the subject of outside support, Isabel says that Ann and John Clarke, who have sadly emigrated to New Zealand were wonderful early influences, followed by John Amos and Kevin Mahoney, plus Paul Dowey, who has been so influential with the county’s elite squad but sadly looks as if he’ll be off to the ‘Land of the Great White Cloud’ as well in the near future.
 
“He will be a great loss to us,” said Isabel, “because he sets us targets and provides lots of encouragement to make sure we reach them, but isn’t afraid to tell us if we are not working hard enough. As well as putting us through our paces in the pool he has taught us how to do proper pool-side ‘warm-ups’ and then ‘swim downs’ when we have finished our sessions in the pool.”
 

Still aiming high!

 
Isabel has now been involved in swimming for a decade and has been ranked No 1 in Wales for her age group but is currently ranked No 3.
“It’s based on points and the two now in front of me have swum in more competitions lately because I have been busy with my GCSE exams. But I have a nice break from school now and my aim is to get back on top.”
 
With her swimming ability, dedication and determination there is every likelihood that this will be achieved sooner, rather than later, and we wish Isabel Johns good luck in the future, especially in the ASA National Championships in Sheffield!