My passion: Love for swimming started early and has continued for Richard Derdowski

Swimming has always been part of my life. When I learned to swim as a youngster at the age of six, I seemed to develop an aptitude for it straight away.

My parents took me down to the local swimming club where I quickly progressed, and ultimately outgrew the club.

I then moved on to a different club competing at county level from the age of ten. This developed to regional level from age eleven then national level from age twelve. I won several county and regional titles and I was a national finalist on multiple occasions. I also swam for Yorkshire and the North-East schools’ division.

After a ‘temporary’ sabbatical of 17 years I started competing again as a masters swimmer a few years ago.

Even after I finished competing as a junior swimmer, I maintained an interest in sport and physical activity, completing a degree in Health and Sport and working part-time as a gym instructor whilst I was studying. My passion for keeping fit and being healthy has remained with me throughout my life. I continued to train in the gym to keep as physically fit as possible and took part in other activities such as boxing, running and fitness classes.

Whilst I don’t always ‘love’ training, I was always competitive and for the most part I really loved competing and the buzz you get from performing well and succeeding. To compete at top level, you really must have a strong passion for the sport and a desire to put it before everything else. It was the drive to compete that got me back into the sport a few years ago. I also find that training in general helps me to switch off and forget about things like work, and helps with managing things like anxiety and mental stress.

In a typical week, I probably swim three to four times a week and I also do a similar number of gym sessions. I usually have one day off exercising a week. If I have a competition on the horizon I might do even more in the lead up. It really is just part of my life and I haven’t known or wanted it any other way.

If you were to ask me when I was six if I would still be swimming now, I don’t think I’d have thought I would be. But my tips for anyone trying to get into a sport or physical activity pastime are to find something they enjoy doing. Not everyone likes going to the gym for an hour a day, so pick something that interests you, and set time aside to do it.

Some people prefer to exercise with other people so joining a club or doing group exercise helps maintain motivation.