Nicola is new to GBDS but showing her talent by qualifying for her first Deaflympics with the perfect mix of experience and ambition. She is one to watch out for in Tokyo with proven skill and the determination to shine on the world stage!
How and when did you start swimming?
I first joined a swimming club at 11—not because I was any good, but simply to finish off my swimming lesson badges. Honestly, I was terrible! I hated it, especially the pain in my ears every time they got wet.
But something shifted. By 1998 I was British Age Group Champion in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, and a junior international. I missed the European Championships in 2003 by just 0.03 seconds in the 200IM, and two weeks before the 2004 Olympic Trials… I was hit by a bus. Maybe not my favourite memory.
Despite that, I still hold the oldest Hampshire County Record (200m breaststroke, 1998). And after an 18-year break from the 100m breaststroke, I recently swam my second-fastest time ever.
I first joined a swimming club at 11—not because I was any good, but simply to finish off my swimming lesson badges. Honestly, I was terrible! I hated it, especially the pain in my ears every time they got wet.
But something shifted. By 1998 I was British Age Group Champion in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke, and a junior international. I missed the European Championships in 2003 by just 0.03 seconds in the 200IM, and two weeks before the 2004 Olympic Trials… I was hit by a bus. Maybe not my favourite memory.
Despite that, I still hold the oldest Hampshire County Record (200m breaststroke, 1998). And after an 18-year break from the 100m breaststroke, I recently swam my second-fastest time ever.
How did you get involved with GBDSC?
This is my first time racing with and for GBDSC so I look forward to the experience and to get to know the team better.
This is my first time racing with and for GBDSC so I look forward to the experience and to get to know the team better.
Competitions
I have just returned back into swimming, after 18years of not having set foot in a swimming pool. Literally.
I started racing again in 2023, aged 41, building back into the sport gently, starting with 50m sprint events, which require far less training, and more recently, 100m events. Over the last 6months or so I have ventured into the longer 200m events which would have been my race distance as an age group swimmer.
I tend to race mainly Masters events. As these are few and far between, especially in Ireland, I have to race mainstream events to get qualifying times and race practice. I prefer not to race these however, knowing that I am normally at least twice the age of my nearest competitors.
I hold 14 Irish Masters records, and broke the British Masters 200IM record in October. This was just before surgery put me out of the water for 3 months so I'm excited to see what else I can achieve this year to add to my growing list of accomplishments.
I have just returned back into swimming, after 18years of not having set foot in a swimming pool. Literally.
I started racing again in 2023, aged 41, building back into the sport gently, starting with 50m sprint events, which require far less training, and more recently, 100m events. Over the last 6months or so I have ventured into the longer 200m events which would have been my race distance as an age group swimmer.
I tend to race mainly Masters events. As these are few and far between, especially in Ireland, I have to race mainstream events to get qualifying times and race practice. I prefer not to race these however, knowing that I am normally at least twice the age of my nearest competitors.
I hold 14 Irish Masters records, and broke the British Masters 200IM record in October. This was just before surgery put me out of the water for 3 months so I'm excited to see what else I can achieve this year to add to my growing list of accomplishments.
What drives your training?
What keeps me coming back isn’t just competition. I loved training with teammates who shared the same mindset, and yes, I loved winning. Now, swimming is my reset button—the calm after a hard day at work or with my kids, when I can clear my head, follow the black line, and just breathe.
I’ve always battled self-criticism, but I’m learning to savour the wins instead of rushing on to the next goal. My biggest lesson? Focus on what you can control. You can’t control anyone else’s performance—only your own. Whether it’s first place or last, success is achieving your goals and finding pride in your own journey.
What keeps me coming back isn’t just competition. I loved training with teammates who shared the same mindset, and yes, I loved winning. Now, swimming is my reset button—the calm after a hard day at work or with my kids, when I can clear my head, follow the black line, and just breathe.
I’ve always battled self-criticism, but I’m learning to savour the wins instead of rushing on to the next goal. My biggest lesson? Focus on what you can control. You can’t control anyone else’s performance—only your own. Whether it’s first place or last, success is achieving your goals and finding pride in your own journey.
What events have you qualified for in Tokyo?
I was lucky enough to have most of the qualifying times for Tokyo. At my age, I have learnt to be selective as to make sure I am at peak performance and having an understanding of what my body can tolerate make this easier. Recovery, for me, will be my key to success – both physically, and mentally. Despite this, I have a busy schedule, having chosen the 50m, 100m, 200m breaststroke, 200m Individual Medley, and the 50m freestyle & butterfly. Enough to keep me busy I think.
Having a chance to over come my own frustrations and disappointment at what I deemed as ‘failure’ during mainstream swimming as an age grouper, I now have an opportunity to show the younger generations, my own children, that despite your age, your setbacks, what life throws at you, that you can still dream, and you can still achieve, even if it is ‘outside’ of what people deem as ‘normal’.
I was lucky enough to have most of the qualifying times for Tokyo. At my age, I have learnt to be selective as to make sure I am at peak performance and having an understanding of what my body can tolerate make this easier. Recovery, for me, will be my key to success – both physically, and mentally. Despite this, I have a busy schedule, having chosen the 50m, 100m, 200m breaststroke, 200m Individual Medley, and the 50m freestyle & butterfly. Enough to keep me busy I think.
Having a chance to over come my own frustrations and disappointment at what I deemed as ‘failure’ during mainstream swimming as an age grouper, I now have an opportunity to show the younger generations, my own children, that despite your age, your setbacks, what life throws at you, that you can still dream, and you can still achieve, even if it is ‘outside’ of what people deem as ‘normal’.
When swimming is tough, when life is tough, make a list of things you can control, and the things you can't. You cannot control other people's performance or behaviour. You can only be the best that YOU can be!
Be it first place, or last , self-acceptance and achievement of YOUR goals are all that you can strive to do.
Be it first place, or last , self-acceptance and achievement of YOUR goals are all that you can strive to do.