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news » 16 Gold Medals for Tibberton Golden Girl Harriet Smith

harriet smith with her 16 gold medals

16 Gold Medals for Tibberton Golden Girl Harriet Smith

Author | 05 March 2018

A 14-year-old Newport swimmer is targeting a slot at the British nationals after delivering 16 gold medal winning performances and nailing 13 personal best times at the Shropshire County Championships.

Harriet Smith entered 17 races across multiple disciplines in Wolverhampton and won all but the 50m freestyle, in which she had to settle for silver. The Stafford Grammar School student also captured 16 Midland qualifying times to book her place at the regional championships in May and earned the county’s top 14-year-old competitor award.

“You have to believe you can win and stay focussed when you’re preparing for a race. It’s not like training where you ease yourself in. You’re there and you have to respond straightaway,” said Harriet, who trains six times a week with Wrekin College SC.

The talented Tibberton youngster won the Shropshire ASA under-14 girls’ 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle, 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke and the 100m, 200m and 400m individual medley races.

“For nine years I swam in a 50 metre pool which gave me better stamina.  The 800 and 400 metre freestyle are good for me, although everyone is aiming for the same thing so I’ve just got to try to improve and get faster more quickly than them,” she added.

Harriet will be gunning for gold at the West Midlands competition in Coventry but her aim is to climb the rankings to bag a place in the British Nationals at Sheffield this summer where only the top swimmers in her age group will be eligible to compete.  Having grown up in Australia where she trained in a 50m pool, Harriet believes her strength lies in longer distance events.

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