Four young swimmers from the Region are amongst a select band of athletes who have been awarded grants from Kellogg's to assist their training and competition.
All the swimmers finished in the top three in their age group at this year's National Age Group Championships in Sheffield. Ellis Jackson (St Felix School), Caleb Hughes (Mid Beds Swim Squad), Miles Garner (UEA City of Norwich SC) and Amy Gore (Thurrock SC) received the grants as part of Kellogg's Swim Active Fee Grant Scheme.
Caleb Hughes finished top in the Bagcat rankings for 12 year old boys, and his mum said of the award, "Caleb has always had so much energy, I am proud to see him focus his energy to obtain his goals and dreams. A big thanks to Caleb’s coaches, Vix and Ash."
Amy Gore finished third in the girls 11 years age group, and her father said, " She was thrilled and so were we as parents. It was her first National competition and massive learning curve for her and us. Her performances were amazing and we were so proud. She faced a lot of pressure, as she was ranked highly in three of her four events, but you soon learn that rankings go out the window in National finals. She was fantastic and the whole event was run so professionally. The money will go towards further enhancing her swim performance. She is going to a training camp in Italy with her club, so it will probably go towards that.”
Ellis Jackson retained the Bagcat title in her age group, girls 13 years, a title she has won every year that she has competed at the National level. Ellis commented on her performances, "I’ve won the BAGCAT for the past two years so to win again is great. It has an added bonus this year in that the BAGCAT winners receive a contribution from Kellogg’s, which goes towards training fees. Its nice to be recognised like this for our performances.”
Miles Garner was second in the boys 13 years age group, and his father said, "He was delighted to come second in the BAGCATS. He won silver in the 200m Butterfly and 400m Individual Medley and broke British records, and is more determined to come back next year and win gold in those events. He is going to put the money towards a new suit, which will hopefully help him achieve those goals.”
Bruce Learner, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Kellogg's, said: "Kellogg's have been enthusiastic sponsors of swimming for over 10 years in the UK and we're delighted to support these talented youngsters as they develop and hopefully become the swimming stars of the future."