Trio of gold medals for Buxton's Abbie Wood at British Swimming Championships

Abbie Wood produced a trio of superb displays to take three gold medals at the British Swimming Championships at Pond’s Forge in Sheffield.
By Mark Duffy
Published 12th Apr 2022, 14:07 BST
Updated 12th Apr 2022, 14:07 BST
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Buxton’s Olympic swimmer, 23, came out on top in a thrilling battle with fellow Olympic star Freya Anderson to first take the 200m freestyle title, before following that up with the 200m breaststroke honours 24 hours later where she led from the front and controlled her pace well to comfortably take gold ahead of Lily Booker and Kara Hanlon.

European gold medallist Wood, who is coached by David Hemmings in Loughborough, said after those two wins: “I definitely can't be too annoyed, I'm just trying to get my race process when I'm out on my own without Molly [Renshaw] pushing me on like last year.

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"So it's just trying to figure out my own race plan and keep building from there for each competition for the rest of the season.

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Abbie Wood reacts after winning the women's 200m individual medley final. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Abbie Wood reacts after winning the women's 200m individual medley final. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Abbie Wood reacts after winning the women's 200m individual medley final. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

“I think I can critique myself far too much in the race. I feel like when I'm in a race like the 200m free I get carried away with the race and that's when I find my best flow.

"When I'm on my own, I definitely critique every single stroke and probably tear myself apart a bit. It's just part of learning, especially in this event.”

Wood then placed ahead of Lily Booker and Katie Shanahan in a time of 2:11.03 to seal her third title on Saturday in the 200m individual medley.

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She said after that swim: “I’m just trying to learn through each swim. At the start of the meet, Dave [Hemmings] and I agreed we wanted ten solid swims through the week, so for my eighth of the week, I can’t be too annoyed.

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“It’s still close to my PB, so I can’t be too annoyed. It’s hard to replicate having seven other world-class people around you. I can’t be too annoyed at myself!

“I think it [the body] is hurting a bit. This is just a starter meet for the rest of my season.

"Dave and I agreed that this is the start of the next racing cycle, just post some good times as a starting mark for the summer.”

Wood was also third fastest in the heats for the 100m breaststroke, but ultimately finished sixth in the final which was won by Anna Hopkin.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Related topics:Abbie WoodBuxtonSheffield