Eleanor Simmonds faces tight schedule between her exams and European championships – Swimming News
British Paralympian swimmer, Eleanor Simmonds is facing a tight schedule ahead, as she will appear at her school exams in Spain and then will defend her titles at the 2011 European Championships in Berlin.
The 2008 Beijing Paralympics 100m freestyle and the 400m freestyle champion, Simmonds, currently resides in Majorca, where she is preparing for the upcoming British Paralympic World Cup and the 2011 European Championships. Eleanor, who was very keen to participate
at the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) European Championships, now faces the stress of passing her General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations also.
The 16-year-old Simmonds expressed that she wanted to keep a balance between her sports and academic career. She said that the clash between her papers and the championships might have an effect on her performance at the international meet, but she considers
it necessary to give appropriate time to her education.
While expressing her views about the contentious situation, Simmonds said, “It’s a bit weird taking my exams whilst abroad at a training camp but it is ok. I just have to ensure that I keep a good balance between my swimming and my school work. I’ve got
a person helping me which is really good. It can be tricky thinking about exams whilst training but we talked about it and we thought it would be best for my swimming and for my school that I took my exams out in Spain.”
Simmonds added that the 2012 London Olympic Games are less than 500 days away and the European Championships are of great importance, as the world’s best swimmers will enter the international meet to warm themselves up for the upcoming event.
She said that she is facing double pressure, as her exams and the competitions have been scheduled at the same time. The Walsall born swimmer added that she won gold medals at the last European Championships and the World Championships, but at that point
of time, she had nothing to do except swimming.
The teenage swimmer said that she will try to meet the expectations of her fans by defending her titles of the 100m and 400m freestyle at the upcoming meets.
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