UoE student takes to the pool in Poland

University of Edinburgh student Nicholas Quinn, from Ireland, represented his home nation at the European Short Course Championships which were held in Szezecin, Poland from 8-11 December last year. Aged only 19, Quinn was the youngest of his teammates making up the 10-strong Irish squad.

The Szezecin pool was newly built in 2010; Quinn described it as “amazing – I couldn’t wait to race in it.” His first event, the 100m breaststroke, put him up against the likes of Great Britain’s Kristopher Gilchrist and Michael Jamieson, ten and five years his senior respectively.

Quinn was unable to see the pool or the crowd until just before the race when he walked out to the blocks; he said: “It was definitely the largest crowd I’ve ever swam in front of.” Feeling nervous, Quinn said: “I just tried to relax and let the race happen.” The nerves in addition to the adrenaline roused by the atmosphere of the arena helped Quinn produce a PB, with a time of 1:02.95.

After a day’s rest, Quinn raced in the 50m breaststroke; “this isn’t my main event so I just used it to get more experience before my main event – the 200m’. Nevertheless Quinn produced another PB of 29.18. Sunday was the day Quinn anticipated most of all – the day of his main event, the 200m breaststroke. He recalled how there was a Polish swimmer in his heat: “Due to him having the home crowd he got a massive cheer. It was without doubt the best atmosphere before any race I’ve been involved in and I tried to use that.” Quinn managed 2:15.62, yet another PB. 

Not only did Quinn’s performance at the Championships prove his worth as an international competitor, but personally it showed that the hard work he was putting in with coach Chris Jones was paying off. Mr Quinn also explained that this was the first major competition he had attended: “To see all the finals of the events was something special and it really has motivated me as a swimmer to get better and achieve more.”