Hammersmith & Fulham swimmer Spencer Williams believes her silver medal at the 2014 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games is just further evidence of how far she has progressed in the past two years.
Williams starred in the pool for Hammersmith & Fulham at Crystal Palace’s National Sports Centre, clocking a time of 29.92 seconds in the junior girls’ 50m butterfly – just 0.02 off winning gold.
The Brompton SC flyer, who has been swimming competitively since she was nine, was also a silver medallist last year and she has already set her sights on going one better next year.
“It was a good race. I knew another medal was possible so I’m pleased it happened,” said Williams, who attends Latymer Upper School.
“Brompton are a really small club but last year I got my first national time, which was the first the club’s ever had.
“This year we’ve got five people going [to nationals] and it’s really good, we’re really close as a club and everyone’s proud to be a part of it. I’m competing in three events this year and I really want to make a final.
“In 2011 I was 0.5 seconds away from making a qualifying time for the nationals, and 0.2 seconds the following year, so I know how far I’ve come over the last two years.”
Hammersmith & Fulham finished 29th in the overall Jubilee Trophy standings – won by Wandsworth – and competed in 24 events across the entire 2014 Games.
Their results included finishing second in girls hockey and football, the latter recording a 15-place improvement on last year, while they also impressed in the netball competition, finishing seventh.
And given the number of athletes who have competed at the London Youth Games before turning professional, notably Mo Farah and Sir Bradley Wiggins, Williams is already plotting how best to add her name to the list.
“I hope to become a professional swimmer and, because it’s really hard to make a Great Britain or England squad, I was thinking that I could compete for Jamaica,” she added.
“My parents are from there. I’m not going to rush into it but it’s something I’ll be thinking about.”
The London boroughs and Balfour Beatty invest in the London Youth Games to build stronger communities through competitive sport.
