Ellen Gandy: Britain’s female butterfly-stroke specialist
Ellen Gandy, Britain’s butterfly specialist, was born on 15 August, 1991. The 19-year-old has represented Britain at the Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Youth Olympics. Gandy is considered
to be a fierce competitor and has won many awards and medals for her outstanding performances in the pool.
Gandy made her debut to international swimming at the 2005 European Youth Olympic Games, where she participated in five swims and won gold medals in all of them. She conquered the 100m butterfly in a time of 1:02.60, 200m butterfly in 2:14.60, 4*100m freestyle
relay in 3:53.72, 4*200m mixed freestyle relay in 7:59.69 and 4*100m medley relay in a time of 4:18.68.
After her victory in the event, Gandy at the age of 15 became eligible to take part in the 2006 British Gas Swimming Championships. Her victory in any event at the championship would have booked her a spot on Britain’s swimming team for the 2006 World Championships,
but she was unable to score any gold medal at that time. The teenager participated in five events, finishing 18th in 100m freestyle, 26th in 200m freestyle, 15th in the 50m butterfly, 9th in 100 m butterfly and 8th
in the 200m butterfly.
The year following, Gandy participated at the European Junior National Championships. She won two gold medals in the 4*100m medley and the 4*200m freestyle relay in a time of 4:09.29 and 8:11.46 respectively being a part of the relay team. She also took
a silver medal in the 4*100m freestyle relay in 3:48.99 and a bronze medal in the 100m butterfly in an improved time of 1:02.60. Gandy improved her time for the 100m event by nearly two seconds in contrast to her timing for the same event last year.
In the 2008 Amateur Swimming Association National Championships, Gandy competed in the 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly and was placed fifth in both events in a time of 28.46 and 1:00.95 respectively. At the 2008 British Gas Swimming Championships, Gandy
won a silver medal in the 200m butterfly in a time of 2:07.69. Her position in the race led to her selection in the British swimming team for the 2008 World Short Course Championships, where she represented Britain in the 100m butterfly only and came eighth
in 58.10.
Gandy was successful in reserving her spot in the 4*200m freestyle relay team for the 2008 European Championships, in which she won a silver medal in 7:52.36. She also represented Britain at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 200m butterfly, as she finished
15th in 2:10.60, a time way ahead of her best of 2:07.69 at the 2008 Championships.
She again won two gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly in a time of 57.49 and 2:04.83 respectively at the 2009 British Championships. Then Gandy took part in the 2009 World Championships and finished 38th in the 50m butterfly,
16th in the 100m butterfly, 15th in the 200m butterfly and fourth in the 4*200m medley relay.
During the 2010 British Championships, she won a gold medal in the 200m butterfly in 2:07.70 and won two silver medals in the 50m butterfly and the 100m butterfly in 27.20 and 58.64 seconds respectively. Gandy won a bronze medal at the European Championships
in the 200m butterfly in 2:07.54. She pocketed two silver medals in the 100m butterfly and the 4*100m medley relay and a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly in 2:07.75.
Gandy is now taking part at the 2011 British Gas Swimming Championships in which she has won two gold medals in the 100m butterfly and the 200m butterfly in 57.68 and 2:06.13 respectively. As a result of her victory, she will now participate in the 2011
Shanghai World Championships in June.
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