Emma crowned Scottish butterfly champion
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EMMA Mill powered her way to success at the Scottish Schools Swimming Championship when she claimed gold in the 50 metre butterfly.
The 11-year-old became national champion when she beat off her rivals to take the title in an impressive time of 33.01 seconds at the final in East Kilbride.
The Castletown school pupil, who is a member of Thurso Amateur Swimming Club, is the top butterfly swimmer in the country for her age.
Her mother Nicola said Emma was delighted but also very modest about her performance after landing a national title for the first time.
“She was very chilled out after winning her final,” she said.
“She doesn’t normally suffer from nerves and is someone who just really enjoys her swimming.”
Emma has been a member of the club for the past three years after her family returned to Caithness after living in Australia. She learned to swim while living Down Under and has continued her competitive career in the far north.
With the support of her parents Russell and Nicola, Emma is dedicated to the sport, training in the Thurso pool six days a week. Her regime is a mixture of early morning sessions and evening stints.
Emma, from Dunnet, like her club-mates, had to make the 40 mile return trip to Wick when the Thurso pool was being refurbished for most of 2016.
Mrs Mill said her daughter was very ambitious and wanted to swim at the top level.
She said: “She is very focused on what she wants to achieve in the sport and trains very hard.
“Her main aim is to swim at the Olympics, which is the aim of any young swimmer.
“She wants to get as far as she can in the sport and do the best she can.”
Not resting on her laurels, Emma is now preparing to compete in the North District competition in Aberdeen next month.
