Riversdale Otters inspired by Olympian’s visit

RIVERSDALE Otters Swimming Club members were inspired to hit new heights after receiving a visit from Olympian, Danielle Hill on Friday afternoon.

The 22-year-old from Belfast who qualified for the Tokyo Games by breaking the 100 metre backstroke record spoke in detail about her swimming career. She told them about how she felt as a 14-year-old when she qualified for the Commonwealth Games, mingling with the likes of Mo Farah and the many ‘selfie’ requests she made during that first visit to the big stage.

Throughout her powerpoint presentation, the Otters members were enthralled from start to finish and according to one club official, Pamela Monaghan, the local children were left inspired to reach Hill’s level in the sport.

“It was absolutely brilliant, she was very, very good,” Pamela beamed. “She spoke to them about her journey, about how she started off in swimming and the hurdles she met along the way before she made it to the Olympics.

“She’s actually quite witty, which was great, so she was making wee jokes and was very down to earth with the children.

“It was great, the kids were absolutely buzzing after her visit and are full of renewed enthusiasm!”

Hill’s visit was facilitated by Swim Ireland and Swim Ulster.

Riversdale Otters will host their own in-house gala today (Sunday) before the younger kids, under-13s, compete in Belfast on March 6th, while the older youngsters, over-13s, will be in action on March 26th and 27th.