Paralympic Hatfield hero Louise Fiddes has a lot to be proud of following her successes in Tokyo this summer, but what drives her to succeed?

The world champion swimmer said: "I want to do my family and home club proud because they have always supported me so much. I also want to be the best I can be so I can inspire young people. I think it’s really important to raise awareness of disabilities, especially ones you can’t see."

After almost drowning in a learn to swim session as a five year old, she hated swimming for years, but her parents pushed her to continue and eventually she not only enjoyed it but got better and better.

Louise, 20, struggled academically at school and found swimming gave her the confidence boost she needed. After learning to swim, she joined Welwyn Garden Swimming Club, before switching to the more competitive, performance-based Hatfield Swimming Club when she was 14.

Here it was suggested she went through classification – a system in place in Paralympic sports to minimise the impact of impairments – and Louise was classified as having intellectual impairment.

Louise, who now lives in Welwyn Garden City, struggles with coordination, movement and learning new things.
"My coordination can be really off, which can mess my stroke up. I struggle with movement and it can be a bit messy Even when I have learnt something, I will forget it really easily, so my coach uses trigger words, which help me. It’s so important to have a coach who understands me."

Louise’s Hatfield coach is Janko Gojkovic, who represented Bosnia in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
It wasn’t until she was 16 that Louise was picked to go on a small regional programme, before spring-boarding to a Swim England one and eventually an elite British Swimming programme.

Louise held her own in the Paralympics this summer, winning silver in the women’s 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 200m individual medley. "They weren’t my personal best times but, considering everything, including some injuries, I was really pleased."

Describing her Paralympics experience as ‘very surreal’, Louise added: "It was so weird because it was something I have dreamed about and it didn’t feel real. I really did feel we were part of a bigger team though. Just walking around Team GB’s building, everybody was so friendly, and people from all the different sports were supporting each other. The atmosphere was amazing."

Sadly, due to Covid-19 restrictions, Louise’s family were unable to travel to Japan with her.

"My dad took me to every single swim session - he watched them all - and would come to all my competitions. If I was struggling with something, he would research it to help me. He has been really invested the entire time. He booked flights to Tokyo and was heartbroken not to be able to go."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: The October 2021 issue of Hertfordshire Life.The October 2021 issue of Hertfordshire Life. (Image: Archant)

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