UEL’s star scholar Aimee Willmott speaks to Rising East’s, Jack Ball after being selected for the Rio Olympic Games.
Aimee Willmott has become the first UEL student to be selected for the Rio 2016 Olympics. The 23-year-old’s performance at the recent Olympic trials in Glasgow was enough to seal her spot on the plane to Brazil, after medalling in all of her events. Willmott will travel to the summer games as part of a strong British cohort of 26 swimmers.
Not daunted
Having competed at the London Games in 2012, the Middlesbrough-born athlete has her sights set on success and feels she is ready to stamp her name in the history books this summer. Despite her young age, Willmott is not fazed by the prospect of taking to the pool alongside the very best in the world.
“It’s not really too daunting anymore,” she said. “When I was bit younger I would always be a bit scared and think, ‘oh dear, what am I going to do here, I’m racing against such amazing swimmers.’ Even in London four years ago I kind of got that feeling. But now I very much feel that I have earned my place to be among those swimmers and race against them regularly.”
“There’s even been times when I’ve beaten those swimmers. I’ve beaten world medallists which proves to me that they are not unbeatable. And, if I can do that mid-season then hopefully I can get everything right on the world stage and perform at my best when I know I have to.”
Despite securing three medals at the trials, Willmott didn’t swim at her ‘best’ – she came in second behind Commonwealth champion Hannah Miley in her main event, the 400m Individual Medley (IM), and felt she could have posted a quicker time.
The 2015 BUCS Sportswoman of the year went into the championships having beaten Miley just weeks before – plus she had the second fastest time in the world this season, only World Champion Katinka Hosszú has been faster.
Facing the ‘Iron Lady’
It’s the likes of Hungarian Hosszú, the self-proclaimed ‘Iron Lady’, that Willmott must be prepared to contend with if she is to fulfil her ambitions of “doing something for Britain” in Rio.
The 26-year-old is currently considered by many as the most versatile swimmer in the world. Holding two thirds of the Hungarian records, the three-time Olympian has built a fierce reputation for being highly competitive in several events – and more often than not, she is among the podium finishers. But, could we really see her become the Michael Phelps of women’s swimming this summer?
“Potentially. There’s a lot of swimmers at the moment who are swimming in a lot of events,” Willmott explained.
“But, I also believe that the specialists in certain events will also be amazing come the Olympics. You’ve obviously got Katie Ledecky whose dominating all the freestyle, then there’s the breaststrokers who are a bit up and down.”
“But I think at any Olympics, there’s always those swimmers who come through and perform brilliantly that perhaps weren’t expected to do so well. There’s no doubt, however, that Hosszú will have a good chance in a lot of her events. But, every race at an Olympics is extremely tough, so I’m expecting there to be some really close finishes,” she added.
After a disappointing London Olympics, finishing 4th in 400m IM, Hosszú came charging into 2013 as she set about redemption. Since then she has gone from strength to strength, dominating the IM events to seal four World Championship titles.
Continual improvement
Whilst Willmott’s record does not reflect the same level of domination as Hosszú is recent years, she has shown remarkable improvements since breaking onto the scene four years ago and this year has undoubtedly been her most consistent to date.
“I’ve improved a lot in the four years since London 2012. When I look at the time that I did in London, it was very close to my personal best (PB) at the time of 4:38. Now, my PB is 4:33 – so, I’ve managed to knock off five seconds in four years which has given me a lot of confidence, knowing that I’ve improved and I’m going in the right direction,” the swimmer reflected.
“Last year was a bit of a disappointing year for me. I didn’t finish with the times I really wanted to and things were a bit up and down. So, this year I’ve really come back and tried to make sure that all the things I did wrong last year have been corrected. I’m just enjoying it all a lot more this year which is why I think I’m swimming a lot better.”
Big dreams
In becoming a professional swimmer, Willmott has followed in her father’s footsteps who competed in the 400m IM during the 1984 Los Angeles games and she revealed that to be a successful swimmer has always been her main goal.
“My parents just wanted me to be able to swim when we went on holiday – but, as I got a bit older I started to realise I was quite good at it and I think my Dad’s swimming career made me want to follow in his path,” she said.
“I had to fight a lot of knockbacks when I was a lot younger, I was never the biggest, and I never really won many races. But, when I won my first national title at the age of eleven, I remember thinking ‘wow, wouldn’t this be amazing to do at world level?’ That’s always kept me driven through all my training.”
“To break a world record is something I’ve always dreamt about. As I’ve got a bit older, I’ve come to realise that might not be as realistic as you think when you’re a young swimmer. But, those hopes and dreams that I’ve always had is definitely what drives me and keeps me going,” she added.
As with so many elite level athletes, Willmott seems level-headed as she weighs up her chances at the upcoming Olympics. One thing she can be certain of is that, come the summer, the whole nation will be behind her and the rest of Team GB.