|
Richard (19) from Hemel Hempstead has been a Young Blade since 2005, is being touted as the next big thing in British swimming. Having recently won two gold medals at the Commonwealth Trials, he has cemented his number one ranking in GB 1500m and 400m (for age).
His phenomenal recent form has led British Swimming to select him to spend the next two years training at the world renowned Southport School in Australia.
Richard will be flying the King of Shaves flag whilst training 'down under', and will be keeping us regularly updated on his progress.
Recent achievements include:
• Beijing 2008 Olympic competitor.
• No.1 GB ranking in his age group at 400m and 1500m.
• Double Gold medal winner at Commonwealth Trials.
• Currently at British Swimming elite training camp in Australia.
Please scroll down to read the latest updates and news from Richard.
News update: September 2008, Beijing Olympics 2008.
|
As swimming was the first week of competition none of the team attended the opening ceremony (except Mark Foster who carried the flag). However we did all go to the closing ceremony which was amazing!
The week started well for the swimmers with Beccy Adlington and Jo Jackson getting a Gold and Bronze in the same race. The team was on a high and in the meetings each day we were being told of how many records were broken, how many semis and how many finals were being made. My race, the 1500m freestyle, was at the end of the week and on the last day of the heats, so naturally had been a long time coming for me. The noise from the spectators before the race was deafening, there were hundreds of camera flashes and the chants from the Team were really encouraging! I was in a tough heat with Park (winner of the 400m earlier in the week), Prilukov (the world SC champion), Davies (current bronze medallist in the event) and Cochraine (Canadian No.1) so the pace of my race was quick right from the gun and I had a very good start from lane 8. Cochraine broke the Olympic record and I touched home 7th in the heat in a time of 15.17, just outside my best but taking a lot from the race! This was a real learning experience for the future and I have a lot more work to do.
Once the swimming finished one week into the games, we were able to go to several other events to cheer on Team GB including athletics, women’s hockey and the open water. All the newcomers also took part in an initiation where we had prepared dances to songs and performed them in authentic Chinese clothes in front of past Olympians. I did however get to take in some of the Chinese culture such as the Great Wall and do some haggling in one of the markets.
The athlete village was unlike anything I could ever imagine! The size of it was epic, the village itself had its own bus route and the dining hall was roughly the size of two football fields. By the end of the Games I have to say my feet were aching.
The final night of the Games saw the closing ceremony and although we couldn’t see the majority of the fireworks from inside the stadium, the ceremony itself was incredible, the athletes were buzzing and the crowd was dancing with flags waving in the air. All the Brits were in one section so when it was London's turn to take the stage everyone went mad. It was certainly a night that I will never forget!
The next day we flew home on the Jumbo renamed 'Pride' with a golden nose in recognition of the medal winners. In all honesty there was a lot of sleeping on the flight as the last four weeks had been tiring. After getting off the plane and shaking hands with Gordon Brown we headed to a champagne reception to be reunited with friends and family.
The Olympics was certainly an experience that I will never forget and can’t wait for four more years but next time I hope to bring back a medal!
Thanks to everyone at King of Shaves for your continued support its great you are helping young athletes like me especially in sports like swimming where money is often tight and funding limited”.
BRING ON 2012!!!
News update: April 2008, Richard Charlesworth qualifies for the Olympics!
On the weekend of April 5th and 6th I travelled to Sheffield for the British Olympic tryouts where I was completing in my favourite event the 1500m freestyle.
I went into the heats 3rd fastest with a best time of 15:36.35 which I managed to drop by 27 seconds recording a time of 15.09.97 which was just over 3 seconds under the Olympic qualification time - 15.13.16.
This put me fastest into the final and having looked on the internet this time also ranks me as number 11 in the world this year (across all age groups). The final was swam 36 hours after the heat. Still feeling slightly tired after my race the previous day I went into the final 2 seconds ahead of the second placed swimmer (Daniel Fogg) who also recorded the Olympic qualifying time in the heats.
It was a close race with both me and Fogg going out fast. I put the distance between myself and him in the dying stages of the race, around 12-1300 of the 1500m race and went on to take the championship. The feeling when I hit the wall was an indescribable one. Its moments like that, that make all of the early mornings and countless hours of training worth while!!!
After finishing the race and joining the rest of the team for the Olympic parade I discovered that I am the youngest male member of the 2008 swimming squad, exactly half the age of the oldest member, Mark Foster.
I am delighted with my performance and am looking forward to all of my upcoming events and what will prove to be a huge year for me!
News update: 17 January 2008 from Richard
Graduation ceremony.
|
Graduation ceremony.
|
Since November there has been a large group of senior GB swimmers out here on the gold coast for a training camp and amongst them was olympic bronze medalist David Davies who I trained with for around 8 weeks. My training has been stepped up in light of the olympic trials at the beginning of April, so much so that my christmas day began at 5:30 on poolside.
Just one session on christmas day however two on new years eve and day. All the hard work will be put to the test in a few weeks time when I am off to South Africa for their national open water championships which are the selection meet for the World Championships due to be held in Seville mid way through the year. I need to be placed in the top two seniors in Britain to qualify for Seville. Following the completion of this race I will fly back to Australia for some more training with the olympic trials in mind as well as competing in some smaller competitions including one at the olympic pool in Sydney.
News update: 2 November 2007 from Richard
400m gold medal
|
After just two weeks of training I entered my first competition, The Queensland short course championships. I wasnt in the best shape for them so was pleased when I came back with 2 gold and 1 silver medals.
From there it was down to some hard training. We went on a team building camp to a place called hidden creek. Where activities included: kayaking, rock climbing, high ropes and most challenging we climbed the tallest mountain in Queensland, Mount Warning. We set off at 3am so that by the time we got to the top the sun would just be rising. The climb lasted for about three hours but the views from the top were breathtaking.
1500m gold medal.
|
I have another meet in two weeks time and in good shape am looking foward to the challenge. Will keep you updated with my progress.
I have also had conformation that I will be going to South Africa in January to compete in the South African National open water championships which double as the first stage olympic qualifier and world championship qualifier.
All is going well and I am looking foward to what I hope will be a succesful year.
News update: October 2007 from Richard's parents
British open water team.
|
We are anticipating that, in the short term, Richard will be staying in Australia in preparation for the Olympic trials next year. Richard is currently having discussions with British Swimming about plans for his immediate future which will involve additional contributions, so your continued support is appreciated. This will also involve the longest seperation from family to date and includes Christmas (around 8 months). Although Richard's long term aim is for the 2012 Olympics, it now seems that there is an outside chance that he may qualify for 2008 in Bejing.
Some press clippings are shown below, click on them to open a larger version.
|
|
|
News update: 14 July 2007 from Richard
Racing at London Docklands.
|
Before the Docklands race.
|
It all started in Early June when I flew back to England ahead of my team mates to compete in Seville in the 10km world cup open water meet. It is the course for the world championships next year, which doubles as an Olympic qualifier so the field was strong. I went to the race tired with back-to-back flights from Oz but, new to the event, was looking to gain experience. I finished one of the highest place juniors and a respectable 42nd place out of the 60 competitors.
From Seville I had a week to prepare for the 5k and 10k British Senior Championships which included the 5K European Cup and the 10K World Cup at the Royal Albert Docks in London - the water temperature was just 19 degrees!!! The events were back-to-back on the Saturday and Sunday. In both events I took the Silver medal in the British Championships and came 9th in the 5k races and a solid 14th in the 10K world cup.
All of the races so far had been senior competitions but my focus was the European Juniors in Milan on the Friday, which I was especially looking forward to because it was the first event for juniors only. I was also fast enough to qualify for the 10K seniors on the Saturday.
Gold for 5K at Eurpoeans!
|
Silver, London Docklands.
|
I am now heading back to Australia with one eye on the Olympic trials next year. There are a few upcoming competitions over the coming months and I will let you know of my progress in them. This summer has been a real confidence boost and I’m looking to improve on my performances prior to the major competitions next year.
News update: 26 May 2007 from Richard
After a race!
|
I flew back to Australia with high spirits after having had a successful meets in the spring. With the added incentive of European competition this summer I have been getting my head down. I've had several racing simulations to prepare me for the upcoming events although I'm not sure how much preparation you can do for swimming 10Ks round lakes and rivers !
Last week I traveled to Brisbane to compete in the Australian Grand prix and competed against both international competition as well as Australia's best. I started the weekend on a positive note qualifying fastest for the "B final" of the 400m freestyle and then taking third position the next morning. My main event wasn't until the last session of the meet. Going into the final in 8th position I had nothing to loose. It was a quick race won by a Canadian although I managed to place in amongst them finishing in 4th. I was pleased with my efforts this weekend as I was not rested in the hope that I will race better in a few weeks time.
I fly home in less than two weeks now and my start competing on the 9th June in Seville for the first stage of the world cups and will let you know how I get on with the upcoming races.
News update: 4 April 2007 from Richard
Having landed back in the UK just a few weeks ago I quickly settled into a pattern of training up at Loughbourgh university. My focus was the Open National Championships (held in Manchester). I was swimming more distance events in this competition than I had ever swam before. There was also an added incentive to swim fast as the French national team had flown over to compete and give a bit of extra competition.
I started the week on a high as my first race was the 5000m freestyle. This was the first time I had ever swam this race in a competition although I was quietly confident going into it. There was the French National record holder in the lane next to me so I knew that the race would be fast.
After a battle for over 53 minutes between myself and the Frenchman I came out on-top winning by 11 seconds in the fastest time ever recorded by a Brit!
Still tired from the race earlier that day I then swam that evening in the 400m freestyle and managed to record a time close to my best. I was pleased with my performance as the 5k had taken its toll on me.
Later on in the week I did the 1500m freestyle, I went into the competition ranked 6th and qualified for the final in 5th position. The final again had a mixed combination of both British and French athletes. Although I was the youngest in the final I still managed to win the bronze medal and was the second placed Brit in the field.
The times for my swims were as follows:
5000m freestyle - 1st 53:12.0 (Fastest time by a Brit ever)
400m freestyle - 24th 4:06.20
1500m freestyle heat - 5th 15:42.53
1500m freestyle final - 3rd 15:39.53
4x200m freestyle relay - 5th 1:56.93
My time in the 5000m qualified me for a number of competitions in Europe in the summer. I am now flying home to swim in London for the British open water champs, Seville to swim in the open water world cups and then Milan to swim in the European Junior open water champs. All of which will have still competition from all over Europe.
Racing is not over for this cycle, I am competing again this weekend although in a more local meets. I will let you know of my progress.
News update: 4 March 2007 from Richard
Seeing the sights in Singapore.
|
Pool in Singapore.
|
The relay team.
|
I started the year with a week's training camp in Singapore where we were forced to deal with the intense humidity, similar to Bejing. The short turnover between landing in Singapore and heading back off to Australia helped us to be more organised with both packing and unpacking. On the Sunday we had off training I was able to have a quick tour of Singapore visiting all of the sights, before flying back to Australia the next day; we stayed in apartments as our school wasn't open yet, again a test of our organisation.
I have had several low key competitions over the past few months including the school house gala where our relay was just 0.2 off the school record. Although the main emphasis is on the ASA National Championships in just three weeks time. My training has been going well and I am looking forward to the upcoming races.
The GB world championship team are over here training alongside us, which has been a useful training aid. Less than two weeks before I fly back home to compete in the Senior national championships in Manchester, arround a year before the Olympic Trials will be held. I will let you know of my progress during the upcoming competition.
News update: 29 December 2006 from Richard
Beach training.
|
Training in the pool.
|
It's been a grueling but rewarding stint on the Gold Coast: training has included aerobic training outside of the water such as cycling and jogging in addition to the normal training regime. However it has seemed to pay off. I competed in my first open water competition in which I swam around a lake four times (a total of 10km) and for this was crowned 17/18yrs Queensland State Champion. A day later I competed in the Gold Coast Mile, this was also an race in open water. This race involved a race down the beach into the water, swimming a mile and then a frantic dash back up the beach. This competition was open to competitors of all ages and so was pleased with my respectable placing of 3rd.
In Brisbane, Chandler Pool, I competed in both the Australian World Championship Trials as well as the Queensland State championships. Other British team members flew out for this so it was nice to see a few familiar faces again.
At the trials I was placed one lane away from Grant Hackett the current Olympic Champion and World Record holder for 1500m. In the state championships I recorded my second fastest time ever in the 1500m bringing home the bronze medal for the open age category.
I am back in the UK until the 15th January when I fly to Singapore for an intensive training camp. From there we fly out to Australia about a week later to resume school at the beginning of a new year. I hope you all had a great new year and wish you a successful 2007!
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I won the dacorum Junior Sports Personality of the year and was in The Gazzette (the local paper) and as a result was invited to the Houses of Parliment by my local MP!
News update: 19 November 2006 from Richard
10K Queensland State Race.
|
No stories of fighting although it was far more intense at the beginning today I managed to get in a better position. Still not good enough to catch up with the leaders but still pretty good. I kicked the whole way round the course today so was pleased with that and the time wasn't bad either. I went 16.29 and that was including the run at the start and swimming off course a bit at times as well as all of the waves, so all in all pretty chuffed.
News update: 19 November 2006 from Richard's Parents
I've also learned to surf!
|
Today, his swim was nearer to home on the Gold Coast. He and this team mate had a lay-in and were up at 06:00 am to walk about 5 miles to the event which started at 10:00a.m. Sounds like he enjoyed this event. He came third in the 'open' category (time below) and tells us that it was televised on Channel 9 News - pity we can't be there to watch it.
Richard will be competing at two more events before he returns. The Queensland States and the Australian Nationals.
News update: 1 September 2006 from Richard
|
All is going great here, I have just come back from a holiday with my family from the barrier reef and am ready to start another year of hard work in the pool. Last years successes in the pool were pleasing but I am aiming to dramatically improve my times as well as continuing with my academics at the southport school.
My day begins at around 5.15 in the morning when I roll out of bed and set off for the pool, a two minute walk away from my boarding house. As we dive into the pool the sun has just begun to shine in the distance. From the pool we head straight up to the dinner hall for breakfast and then after a quick turnaround ready for morning lessons to begin. School begins at 8.40 and does not finish until twenty past three. Be assured were not in the water again until 3.30. Once again as the session finishes there is another frantic rush up to the dinner hall, this time for the evening meal. From there we have a few hours of prep to get all of our school work up to date and to relax, ready for the next day.
I have raced in many major competitions this year some of which have been infront of audiences of up to 8,000 people which has helped me prepare for the big competitions back in England. Some of these competitions include the British senior champs (Sheffield) where by best position was 5th as well as the Australian National championships (Sydney Olympic pool) where my best position was also 5th in addition to the GPS schools competition (Brisbane) which is renowned to be one of the most exciting competitions in the world.
Just incase you have not heard my results at my last competition (ASA National championships) I shall update you:
Gold-800m freestyle 17/18 years (NEW BRITISH AGE RECORD!)
Gold-1500m freestyle 17/18 years
Silver-800m freestyle open age
Silver-1500m freestyle open age
Silver-4x200m freestyle relay
Bronze-400m freestyle 17/18 years
This competition was a challenge for me as I was forced to race both people in my own age group as well as people a year older than myself. However I overcame this challenge, breaking the British age group record in the 800m freestyle and becoming one of the fastest 15 Brits of all time (any age) in the 1500m freestyle.
Overall the meet was very productive and I learnt a lot from the events in the six day competition. Next its back to school on the gold coast in Australia where I will continue to train until Christmas.
The Times also included Richard in a piece on young swimmers 'down under' on the 11 March 2006 and this can be viewed by following this link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2961-2079828,00.html
News update: 17 August 2006
|
In July he won the Gold in the National Youths 17 & 18y boys 1500 freestyle event in a time of 15:52 and was presented with the Perpetual Challenge Cup 1896 that is engraved with all the winners since that date.
It was originally for the half mile event and transferred to the boys 1500m freestyle in 1971. He competed in the 'open' age 1500m final and managed a massive 17 second PB finishing 2nd with a silver medal in a time of 15:36. He's now back in Australia training hard.