Swimming
Olympic star returns to his roots at Hewell Road

REDDITCH Swimming Club recently said a fond farewell to the much-loved Hewell Road Baths as the final training session on January 29 ended an association which spanned 110 years.

And, in what was a fitting finale for the baths, RSC's most celebrated graduate Jamie Salter was a special visitor to mark the occasion, ahead of the club's move to the new Abbey Stadium pool.

The Hewell Road pool and Redditch SC have produced many County, Midland, National and International swimmers, the most famous being Salter, who started his swimming career with RSC and trained at Hewell Road for several years.

His talent was soon recognised and he went on to swim for City of Birmingham, City of Edinburgh, England and finally Great Britain.

Salter competed in three Commonwealth Games (1994, 1998 and 2002), four World Championships (1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001) and two Olympic Games (1996 and 2000).

In 2000, he swam in the finals of individual freestyle events at both the World Championships and Olympic Games, where he finished sixth in the 200m freestyle final behind the likes of Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband.

Salter is also a former British record holder at both 200m and 400m freestyle and was also part of a very successful British 4x200m freestyle relay team, which won no fewer than nine medals at European, Commonwealth and World Championships, including gold at the 1997 European Championships - breaking the British record on numerous occasions and setting a new European record at the 2000 World Short Course Championships.

Salter is still heavily involved in swimming as he works as a project manager for British Swimming's Talent Directorate and, after hearing that the Hewell Road pool was to close, he contacted RSC head coach Chris Britt to ask if he could attend one last training session with the current RSC swimmers.

All at the club were, of course, delighted to welcome back such a famous sporting hero and Salter duly came along to the penultimate session at the pool.

He joined in with all of the sets and took an enthusiastic part in the relay races, although, unfortunately, his team failed to win any of the races!

After the session, Salter kindly stayed behind for some photos with the club's swimmers and talked to parents and coaches.

If you are a keen young swimmer then come along to the brand new Abbey Stadium pool and start your progression through structured squad coaching.

For more information or a free trial please contact RSC head coach Chris Britt on 01527 853257 or e-mail coach@redditchswim.org.uk.

Jamie Salter (middle) is pictured with RSC club captains Paul Wilkes and Laura Cranshaw. (s)