Bedford’s Eloise Cole has enjoyed a sharp rise in the world of junior swimming in the last couple of years, winning a host of gold medals across numerous age groups and strokes, but her biggest challenge awaits this August.
Cole, 15, has been selected to represent England at the World School Games, taking place at the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in what will be the young swimmer’s biggest meet to date.
In January, Eloise managed a clean sweep of gold medals in the ASA County Championships in both her own age group and in senior swimming, making her one of the nation’s top prospects in the pool but with an international meeting to come, her biggest test will come abroad.
Read: Modernian Swimming Club sweep the ASA County Championships
The World School Games is a multi-sport event involving 22 sports and 3 para-sports, with the last edition seeing 36 countries represented.
There is, however, a catch.
Funding needed
The English Schools Swimming Association, which lists the Prince of Wales as one of their patrons, are a charity and cannot fund individual swimmers to attend.
Therefore, Eloise is on the hunt for £2,750 worth of funding in order for her to attend what could be a career-defining meeting in Brazil.
The young swimmer is now on the lookout for local funding, with the call going out to local businesses to see who would like to sponsor her attendance in the competition in Brazil.
Modernian Swimming Club have also set up a fundraiser to help Eloise reach Rio, in what would be a key moment in Eloise’s huge potential to go far in the world of swimming.
You can donate to Eloise’s fundraising campaign by following her GoFundMe page here.
If you are a local business and would like to contribute to Eloise’s career-defining event, you can email chairman@modernians.org.uk.
