We have been sponsoring Olympic swimming hopeful Helena Gasson for the last two years - Find out more

We have been sponsoring Olympic swimming hopeful Helena Gasson for the last two years. Helena has worked very hard in and out of the pool to achieve her dream to become an Olympic Champion. Nobody was expecting COVID-19 and the restrictions we have needed to undertake to reduce its spread.

Tokyo 2020 is now postponed to 2021, which has created new hopes for those athletes preparing for the Olympics.

The lockdown has meant Helena has had to adapt her training. She says, “I haven’t had this much time without pool training in my career before so it is a huge change to adapt too.” Her goal is still clear so she has set up a gym in her garage to keep herself in shape.

Helena reflects that she has confidence that her fitness level will come out of lockdown fine and it won’t take long to get used to the feel of the water and improve again. Financially it has been tough but she has been lucky enough to have a personal sponsorship from Hot Water Heat Pumps Ltd. The situation has not changed her motivation and her coach will have to be clever in how he adapts to the new environment post lock-down.

During the lockdown Helena has tried to stay as positive and mentally stimulated as she can. This has been a struggle as she normally finds strength in routine and structure. She misses the calm relaxing feeling of being in the water and can’t wait to be training again.