SWIMMING: Commonwealth Games spot for Emma (From The Bolton News)

SWIMMING: Commonwealth Games spot for Emma

8:20pm Tuesday 24th August 2010 in

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BOLTON’S teenage swimmer Emma Saunders was celebrating after being selected in the England team for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October.

The 16-year-old Bolton School pupil, who lives at Heaton, has the chance to represent her country at five events after being nominated for the 100metres and 200m individual freestyle, 4x100m and 4x200m relay teams and the 50m backstroke events.

Whether she competes in all the events depends on the timing of the programme, but Emma was delighted when she got the news. “It was my aim and I had to go out there to get the times to carry it out,” she said.

Realistically a final place would be a great achievement in the individual events but she has high hopes of a medal in the relays.

She trains two and a half hours nine times a week under the supervision of her coach Mark Rose at the Manchester Aquatic Club, but she is still a member at Horwich Leisure Centre Swim team, where she began her career. Emma made her mark earlier in the month when she won a haul of four medals at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Helsinki.

She took gold in the 50metres backstroke in a time of 29.01secs to break the European junior record and set a British age-group record.

Not content with taking the individual title, she helped the Great Britain team scoop three silver medals in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay and the 100m medley relay.