Buxton's Olympic star Abbie Wood admits it all feels very surreal
The 22-year-old recalls how her mum encouraged her to join in sessions at Buxton Swimming Club rather than just sit watching her sister.
“My sister used to swim at Buxton and I just used to sit and watch,” said Wood, during an interview with Swim England.
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Hide AdWood achieved consideration times for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in both the 200m Individual Medley and 200m Breaststroke.
She added: “I was like ‘I’m not getting involved, I don’t want to do it’. One day my mum said, ‘you’re just sitting around so why not give it a go’?”
Wood progressed from Buxton to Derventio eXcel and is now coached by Dave Hemmings at the Loughborough National Centre.
It will be her second experience of a multi-games competition as she was part of the England team that took part in the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast.
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Hide AdSince then, she has picked up a gold medal as part of the record-breaking Women’s 4x100m Freestyle team at the 2021 European Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
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Hide AdBut being part of the Olympic set-up is only just starting to sink in for Wood.
“When you’re swimming at a younger age, you don’t really know where it’s going to get you,” said Wood. “If I’d told my 10-year-old self at Buxton that she’d be going to the Olympics, I don’t think she’d believe it. It’s quite surreal."