Bexley Masters Swimming Gala, 19 May 2024

Why did the triathlete do a swim gala? Maybe the right answer is that I do things I find scary just to prove to myself that I can do them and because I like going fast. The other reason is I got to spend the entire day hanging out munching snacks on poolside and cheering on my friends. 

My events of choice were: 200 individual medley, 400 freestyle and 100 breaststroke as a throwback to 12-year-old me who used to be a breaststroker. 

I'm glad to report that two whole lengths of butterfly didn't kill me, that I successfully counted to 16 for the freestyle and the breaststroke was pretty speedy too - all in all enough points to get me overall 2nd in my age group and my first swim medal in many (!) years.  

I'm a faster swimmer than this time last year and genuinely am loving my swim training right now which is a pretty great position to be in. I'm fairly sure the stretch of river in Bedford at my next triathlon will neither have nice lines painted on the bottom nor be filled with the wonderful scent of chlorine but I've got a good feeling about it!

Lizzie Fox