It's been a summer to remember for Chesterfield swimmer Imogen Clark after picking up a medal in two separate major events. Not only did Clark win a superb silver medal in the 50m breaststroke event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, she also secured a bronze medal in the 50m breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships a few days later in Rome.
The medals won in Birmingham and Rome are a clear statement of intent from the 23 year-old following the huge disappointment of missing out on being selected for Team GB's swimming squad for last year's Tokyo Olympics.
The silver medal Imogen won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games was her first senior major championships medal since the previous Commonwealth Games when she won the same medal at the same event at Glasgow 2018. Needless to say, the moment she realised she was finally a medalist again was a very special moment indeed:
"It just meant everything to me. It's probably one of my proudest moments in my swimming career. It means all the more when you're on home turf. I remember finishing that race and seeing all my family, friends and all my supporters in the crowd - that's one of my most special memories that I think I'll hold. To medal at an event in front of people that have been there with you since day one - it just makes it all the more special. The crowd was absolutely incredible with it being a home Games. It was something I'd never experienced and it's something that I don't think I'll ever forget."
Imogen concedes that there is more pressure when it's a home Games but it was a situation that she was seemingly very well prepared for mentally:
"I think it's a little bit of both. It does put that little bit more pressure on you because of the expectation you put on yourself to perform. It's all about using that home advantage to your own advantage rather than letting it scare you in a way. You know that you're going to hear a very loud noise from the crowd when you walk out to your blocks; so you either block it out so you don't get nervous or you embrace it. For me, walking out in front of those very large crowds, I just embraced it and soaked it all up. Talking about it now just gives me goosebumps. It's one of those moments where I just embraced the crowd and the expectation from them. The crowd obviously want to see Team England do well in England. So I think I just thrived under that pressure and I allowed it to spur me on rather than let it hinder me."
Imogen also spoke in detail about how her absence from the Tokyo Olympics gave her extra motivation to perform strongly in 2022 and gave the silver medal she won at Birmingham extra significance:
"Definitely. Missing out on the Olympics was quite a harsh one but one that I wasn't fully expected to make. I knew that team would be a very hard team to make. But it's a team that I will always strive to reach. Everyone wants them rings. I just really wanted to make sure that I got to Birmingham and really made that one count and put my stamp on the international stage. I put that kind of expectation on myself to go to Birmingham and prove to everyone who I am. I know I missed out on a few big events but when I got the chance at an event that matters, I knew that I could smash it. It was just one of those moments where I really wanted to do well for myself. Swimming is all about what you can do on the day and I'm really proud that I managed to perform on the day when it mattered."
Incredibly, Imogen was only meant to be competing at the Commonwealth Games this summer. Out of the blue, she was suddenly added as a late call-up to Great Britain's swimming squad for the European Aquatics Championships in Rome which started only a few days after the Commonwealth Games had ended. It was a unique experience for Imogen to go from one major championships straight into another one. It was a big test of character but one that she passed with flying colours:
"So it was two days after I'd finished my last race at the Commonwealth Games. I had two days off, got the call-up, then three days after the call-up I was on a flight to Rome. So it was a very fast turnaround. I had three days at home to see family before flying out to Rome." "The only other time I've ever experienced something like that was in the International Swimming League which is a short-course event and you're pretty much racing every weekend and only have about four days in between where you have different matches. But in terms of the international stage where you're representing your country, that's never happened in my career before. Certainly with a three day turnaround, that's never happened before. But I was just excited to be there in Rome. I wanted to keep the ball rolling. I love racing. That's why I turn up to the swimming pool at four in the morning and do all these hard sessions because I love to stand up at the block and race. I knew that I'd been given this extra opportunity and this time it was to represent Britain. I was just really excited to get going again."
Clark's medal success in Rome at the European Aquatics Championships was remarkable considering what happened as soon as she landed in Italy:
"We flew out on the Monday morning and got to where we needed to be very late on Monday night. We all had to get our Covid tests done before we could pick up our accreditation and compete. So that night we all got our results back and mine came back positive. So I spent the next seven days in my hotel room in full isolation. I had all my meals delivered up to my room. I was literally just stuck in my hotel room for a week. I got re-tested a week into the isolation and my results came back negative just in time to start competing in my first race the next morning."
The Chesterfield swimmer is still completely over the moon with her 50m breaststroke bronze medal in Rome - her first ever European Championships medal at senior level:
"It was absolutely unbelievable. Especially after the kind of preparation that I'd had, which was obviously not a lot. I went into the first race really calm and said just to myself what will be will be. That was how I approached every race in Rome and the ball just kept rolling. To come away with a medal at the end was just unbelievable. My last international medal before this summer came in 2018. So to go four years without a medal and then suddenly win two in a short space of time was absolutely incredible. It's been a summer that's just blown me out of the water. I can't believe how it all happened. In the 50m breaststroke final, the world record holder was in the race as well as the reigning world champion - so it was just class to go and race them. To come away from this summer with two medals and two British records has just been amazing."
It's been noted by many in the sport now that Derbyshire have an outstanding talent pool of swimmers. Alfreton teenager Jacob Whittle has the swimming world at his feet after also picking up medals at both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships this summer while the likes of Buxton's Abbie Wood won a staggering five medals overall in Birmingham. How have Derbyshire become so strong in swimming over the past few years?
"I don't know - something in the Derbyshire water clearly! We've all at some point trained at Derventio Excel. That's definitely a common factor - we've all been there together at some point. I'm not quite sure why, really. It's pretty incredible when you look at how many of Team GB's squad recently have come from Derbyshire. It's great to have that representation from Derbyshire - we've got some really big names in the mix."
For Imogen, the big swimming events for 2022 are almost over and some hard training is now on the menu for the remainder of this calendar year:
"I think, for the most part, it should be a quiet winter cycle. We've got short-course Nationals at the end of this year in December. That'll be a big event and I'll be hoping to throw something down fast for then. Most of the rest of this year will just be rebuilding my base for the Fukuoka trials for the World Championships. It'll be a period of time to rebuild from what we've all learnt this summer. It's going to be a lot of tough training."
Like many sports, the Olympics is the pinnacle for swimming and there's no surprise about what the major goal is for Clark following her medal success this summer. Paris 2024 isn't a million miles already and the hard work to earn selection this time around is already under way:
"Definitely, that's the long-term aim. It would be an incredible Olympics to be at. There will be a proper crowd this time around. Family members might be able to come over and watch. It would be a really good Olympics to qualify for. That's certainly my long-term goal. The qualifying period for that starts in 18 months time so we've got a year and a half from now to try and do as much as I possibly can to leave no stone unturned leading up till then."
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