Megan prepares for World School Games
16-year-old from Ivybridge gets ready for Brazil honour
16-year-old Ivybridge student Megan Bowen is putting her heart and soul into training as she prepares for her biggest honour to date – competing for her school and country in the International Swimming Federation’s (ISF) World School Games in Brazil.
Megan will be swimming in the 200 and 400 metres freestyle events, and with less than four weeks to go until she flies out, she is continuing her grueling schedule, which includes a minimum of 25 hours of training per week.
Megan is one of eight swimmers chosen for the event from Plymouth Leander swimming club – under the watchful eye of John Rudd – but while many of Megan’s team mates study at nearby Plymouth College, Megan combines her training with studies 12 miles away at Ivybridge Community College.
“Training is certainly hard work,” said Megan, “but it will all be worth it when I compete in Brasilia and have my chance to compete against the best in my age group from across the world. Many of those that I compete against will be preparing for the 2016 Olympics – which is my dream too – so it will be the ideal opportunity to gauge my progress, see how the competition is performing and hopefully set some personal best times too.”
Megan’s tough day starts at 4.15am most mornings, before travelling from Ivybridge to Plymouth for a two-and-a-half hour session, which begins at 5.00am. “It’s very tiring,” she said, “but early mornings are all part and parcel of the hard work I have to put in. I do love Sunday mornings when I get a lie in though!”
Megan then travels back to Ivybridge to start school at 9am, ensuring that she keeps on top of her academic studies. As an elite athlete on Ivybridge Community College’s Talented and Gifted programme she is given special dispensation – which allows her additional time to get her homework done and complete assignments. She’s also entitled to specialist training support from the college’s strength and conditioning coach Andy Taylor. Then, after lessons, it’s back to the pool in the afternoon for another two-and-half-hour session that can include stretching and as much as 9.5 km in the 50-metre pool. She returns home for 7.30pm, when she eats, catches up with school work, and then gets an early night ready for the next day.
“It’s a huge undertaking for the whole family,” said Sandy Bowen, Megan’s mother, “but we’re extremely proud of her. It’s a big commitment for me too, as I have to be there to take her to the pool every day, ensure that she’s fed the correct nutritious food, and support her when training is at its toughest.”
Megan started swimming at Dinnaton and spent years ‘swimming widths’ as she wasn’t interested in the sport at first. Then, at the age of ten, she competed in her first Dinnaton swimming gala, and things soon changed.
“We assumed she was going to ‘just take part and have fun’,” added Sandy, “as she didn’t seem bothered about swimming. But as soon as she hit the water her competitive side took over and she raced ahead of everyone. She won literally every race she entered, and by the end of the gala her passion for competitive swimming had been ignited.”
Dinnaton coach John Wright immediately recognised Megan’s potential. He told her that she owed it to herself to take swimming more seriously and make the most of her natural talent. Within a few weeks John had taken Megan under his wing, fast-tracked her into the A squad, and started her on a competitive training programme.
As the intensity of Megan’s training picked up, she set her goals higher, making the regional finals at the age of 11. And then, after beginning training with Alan Rooker (who was previously part of Olympic swimming star Rebecca Adlington’s training team), she took the 1500m freestyle bronze in the following year’s national championships, aged 12. By the age of 13 Megan stepped up another gear, becoming one of the only home-grown Devon swimmers ever to win triple gold at national finals – finishing first in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events and also taking silver in the 100m freestyle.
“It has all happened so quickly,” added Megan, “and it was great to do it as a member of a small club, Dinnaton. John Wright was an inspiration to me, and Alan Rooker really helped me develop my talent - I’ll always be grateful to them for how much they have helped me.”
After Alan’s retirement last year, Megan was worried that she would be without a coach, but when she was offered the opportunity to train with John Rudd on the ASA Beacon Programme at Plymouth Leander she jumped at the chance. Her schedule now includes more hours, additional core stability work, technical sessions, weight training, poolside conditioning and work with ‘wobble sticks’ to improve shoulder strength and stability.
“It’s an elite programme and the squad is so strong here,” added Megan, “It’s hard work, but just being with others who are in the same boat as me and a desire to be at the top of my sport drives me on to train harder and up my performance. I know that the most important thing for me is to stick at my training programme and focus my mind on my goals. It’s hard, because friends don’t understand when I say that I can’t miss a training session to meet them, but I know that it could be the difference between winning and losing.”
Alongside her standard competitions, Megan recently took part in her first ever ‘blue mile’ at Plymouth Hoe, where she finished fourth out of 64 female swimmers in just over 23 minutes. Despite recent injuries including an overuse injury to her knee, Megan is confident about her upcoming performance in Brasilia.
“It will be such an amazing experience and a real opportunity to test myself against the best in the world for my age group. I just can’t wait to get out there.”
Megan flies out to Brasilia at the end of November and the ISF World Games run from 27 November to 4 December.
Megan Bowen Fact File
• Megan gets up at 4.15am and starts training at 5.00am every day except Sunday
• She trains a minimum of 25 hours per week
• She is currently studying GCSEs
• She won her first national medal aged twelve and her first national title aged 13
• She is on Ivybridge Community College’s ‘Talented and Gifted’ Programme which is designed to help elite sports people succeed in their sport and their education
• Megan’s favourite food is spaghetti bolognese
• Megan didn’t start competitive training until she was ten years old
• Megan’s first competitive coach was John Wright at Dinnaton Swimming Club
• Megan’s swimming hero is Rebecca Adlington
• Megan is one of Devon’s only home-grown triple national gold medalists
• Megan’s first ever coach was ‘Nan’ at Dinnaton swimming pool
• Megan’s parents first sent her swimming so that she would be safe when surfing and swimming in the sea
• Megan spent years swimming widths before she moved on to longer distances
• Former Ivybridge Community College director of Sport Andy Hulbert has been a huge inspiration to Megan, helping her through tough training times
