Disabled athlete from Blackpool Polar Bears disability swimming club is selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin

A disabled swimmer who trains at Moor Park Leisure Centre has been chosen to compete in the Special Olympics in Berlin in 2023.
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Charlotte Foster, 27, is one of four athletes from the North West to be selected for the GB team to go to the World Summer Games next June.

Charlotte, who works at Highfurlong Academy, will be attending special weekend training camps to prepare for the major event.

“Younger athletes have been really inspired”

Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022.Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022.
Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022.
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She has been training with Blackpool Polar Bears multi-disability swimming club since 2006 – when she was 10.

She will swim 25 metres front and back stroke, and take part in a relay - a new category, as in the past only longer distance swimmers had the chance to compete.

Coach, Emma Inglis, said: "Charlotte is in Category One, so she still swims at a fantastic level. Some of the younger athletes have been really inspired as they can see you don’t have to be at that elite level to achieve.”

Overcoming confidence

Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022. Pictured with her coach Emma Inglis at Moor Park Pool where she trains with the Blackpool Polar Bears multi-disability swimming club.Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022. Pictured with her coach Emma Inglis at Moor Park Pool where she trains with the Blackpool Polar Bears multi-disability swimming club.
Charlotte Foster, 27, has been selected for Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2022. Pictured with her coach Emma Inglis at Moor Park Pool where she trains with the Blackpool Polar Bears multi-disability swimming club.

Charlotte has trained with the club every Sunday at Moor Park, since she was ten.

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She had some confidence issues at first, and struggled as she uses a different prescription for her goggles compared to when she is out of the water.

Emma said: “It can be quite disorienting when she first gets in the pool, so that’s affected her confidence.”

But competing in regional galas has been a big boost for her.

In 2017 she won a bronze medal for her back stroke, at the Special Olympics GB National Games, in Sheffield.

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“She is always the loudest at the poolside cheering everyone on"

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The coach said that Charlotte’s can-do attitude has helped her to develop into a ‘lovely little swimmer’.

Emma added: “There are things she doesn’t enjoy but she’s always put 100% into everything and trys her best. At competitions she is always the loudest at the poolside cheering everyone on. She’s a great ambassador for the club and it’s fantastic that she’s achieved this.”

Blackpool Polar Bears is the largest club of it’s kind in the UK. They hold swimming sessions on Sundays at Moor Park Swimming Pool, between 8:55 and 11:30 am and cater for any one with a disability, from beginner to elite level. Find out more at www.blackpoolpolarbears.com/contact-us or call 07948 208765.

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