Personal Stories
While 20 per cent of adults across the country can’t swim, countless adults have put their fears and worries aside to learn.
In our personal stories, you can read how other adults have conquered their fear of the water to become regular swimmers and enjoy the social and health benefits.
Angela was terrified of water and had become accustomed to watching her husband and two sons go swimming on holiday while she had to settle for sitting on the side of a pool watching them splash about.
But, at 55, when she turned up for her first lesson, she found everyone else in the class had the same feelings of trepidation.
Barbara had an intense fear of the water after nearly drowning on a couple of occasions. But, despite being in her sixties and facing a lifetime of fear of the water, she took up swimming lessons as part of therapy.
She found the simple use of goggles helped build her confidence and such was her transformation in the water, she ultimately set-up her own Swimming School for adults in a similar situation.
Denver was a fitness instructor in his 20s but kept his fear of swimming under wraps, categorically refusing to take part in any of the aquatic components of his training.
On one training session he was put on the spot and decided to challenge his fears. He surprised himself as to how quickly he took to the water and became the most popular Aqua Jog trainer at his leisure centre in Lewisham.
Mandy had given up on learning to swim after a particularly distressing experience at school. But when set the challenge to learn to swim before her 50th birthday, she was determined to confront her fears.
Her confidence in the water gradually spiralled and she was able to celebrate her 50th birthday with a swim with her husband in the hotel pool.
If you have a personal story you'd like to share, please e-mail webadmin@swimming.org with your story and contact details.
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