Kath takes Euro silver

A dedicated Staffordshire swimmer battled against injury to take the silver medal in a prestigious international swimming championship.

Kath Tunnicliffe, of Kinver, beat hundreds of other competitors from across the globe to take second place in the European Masters Championships. The 55-year-old, who is also head of Learning 4 Life at the Wordsley School, said that she was very proud but admitted she had not been confident leading up to the event which was held in Kranj, Solvenia.

An injury to her shoulder hit training for four months leading up to the competition and, despite additional preparation, she was still not comfortable going in.

Despite the odds, she achieved one of the fastest times in the category for 55-59-year-olds to take the silver medal – beaten only by a competitor from Israel.

Kath said she had only started swimming again 10 years ago after her hockey career ended. "I have always been a competitive person and when my hockey career finished I was settling down into gardening and walking," she said.

"I had always been a swimmer when I was a child but had not even thought about taking it up again until someone suggested it to me and I thought I would give it a go.

"I was reluctant at first but carried on.

"I would say it took me about three years to get into it again properly."

Kath said that the Masters competition was different to others in that although there are time trials you do not have to qualify for the competition.

"It is more informal. If you have the time and can afford to take part you can attend.

"There were a lot of competitors taking part which makes the achievement all the better," she said.

"Although I have to say the training for the event was not exactly smooth.

"I suffered a pinched muscle in my shoulder which meant I either could not swim or only for a limited amount of time. I was not confident going in but I am very proud with the end result," she added.