Fran Williamson: FORMER Paralympic Swimmer! 07/10/2011
Hey everyone! I hope you’re all well, or at least as well as possible anyway! I’ll warn you, this is a pretty long blog post but I hope you read it all… and there’s a poem, written by me, at the end! Down to business. Some of you may have seen my recent announcement on Twitter, or elsewhere, so this is basically a fuller more detailed version of that. So, with less than one year to go until London, I have made the very tough decision to retire. Some of you may think I’m chickening out – but trust me, after the difficult career I’ve had, I can safely say, I’m no chicken! J It was definitely no easy decision to make but sometimes you know your time is up and its time to move on to new, and [hopefully] equally as exciting ventures. Of which there will hopefully be many. It will be very strange to think I will not be with ‘my team’ in London next year. However, I will be very excited to watch them all compete from ‘the other side’…. Well, as long as I get all the tickets I’ve applied for. My final battle was at the European Champs in Berlin, and I think I knew it would be as soon as I got there. As I say, I have had a pretty tough career on the whole, but I think the time between winning World championship gold, last August, and Berlin was the hardest to get through. I wont go into detail, but I’ll be honest [best policy and possibly helpful to others]… during this last year I’ve been suffering with depression (my first public admission) and very nearly didn’t go to Berlin because of it. This, it has to be said, is not the reason I’m retiring… but then maybe it is, suffering with something like that makes you realise that perhaps things need changing. I’ve never been very discreet, so here I am, not making small changes, but changing my ENTIRE life. And I am genuinely excited about it. I am also retiring because even the most stubborn fighter has to acknowledge when its time to sit down. I have always fought hard: - At the 2002 World Championships I won 5 medals despite suffering from Glandular Fever. - In Athens 2004 I won 4 Paralympic medals with, what I later discovered was, a hole the size of a fifty pence piece in an ankle tendon. - At the World Champs in 2006 I won 3 golds and 2 silvers with a severe shoulder injury that left me unable to move my arm for 2 months - In Beijing 2008 I stood up and won 2 Paralympic medals despite my shoulder injury returning and having to swim with local anaesthetic injected into my arm, that actually did nothing for my pain! - I returned from 14 months out of training to win a gold, silver and bronze at the World Champs in 2010. From Berlin this year I came home with 2 bronze medals and a 4th. From this I realised that the world has moved on and sped up in a very short space of time. Sped up to a point that I cannot compete with. I am not ashamed to say this either… I have been in the top three in every race I’ve raced for 10 whole years, until this year. I’m immensely proud of this and this is how I wish to end my career! I am hanging up my goggles and bowing out as the current World Champion…. And proud! BUT!! As one door closes, many many more open – and I cannot wait to get cracking. Over the last year I have established some good working relationships with several people, companies and charities. I’m looking forward to continuing this work and hope to make a positive difference with everything I do! I’m looking to complete my Masters degree, using my knowledge of Paralympic sport to produce an amazing [says I] final dissertation. I have also taken on a number of Diplomas to increase my knowledge in psychology and the like. This will be used [hopefully] in conjunction with my experiences to eventually produce unique motivational tool-kits and possibly even a few books :D So I can positively help future athletes succeed! I might even chuck in a few coaching courses along the way. I was never ‘just a swimmer’. Swimming was an amazing part of my life, but now its time for me to step up and shine in other areas of life. Indeed, I’m leaving the pool but I’ll be making sure you haven’t seen the last of Fran Williamson yet! Lucky people. Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you to all the lovely people who have supported me over the years. Mostly to my mum, who has had a massive impact on my career; To all my lovely friends and family, including my boyfriend Chris Whitaker; To the amazing Dr Derek Martin and Physio Paul Martin without whom nothing would’ve ever got fixed and I’d currently be armless, footless and headless (it possible that I hold the record for time spent getting treated on the physio bed); To all the coaches I’ve worked with over the years; thank you to the immensely talented and ever supportive GB Swim Team, its been fun and your cheering has been priceless! And finally to you guys – the people who have followed my story on Twitter, Facebook, on my website, or just in the news, people who wish me luck or say well done – I may not always know who you are but I ALWAYS appreciate the effort and your interest :D This is a little poem I wrote as soon as I realised I had made my decision… I hope you like it! Swimming to the End Waiting at the block for that big bang to sound. There it is - go! Go! Go! - That was the gun! You know you have everything to give; As you kick off and let the water wash over you. This may be your chance - they might stumble. You push as if there is no tomorrow, perhaps there wont; as you know this may be the final round. Your body falters slightly, can you compete? But your brain kicks in, hear the GB lion roar. Must push to keep swimming to the end. Everybody is watching, swim for your country. You reach the finish, you know for sure; The glory will not be yours to take. Minutes tick by as you turn to see the scoreboard. The goggles come off so you clearly see the light. The scoreboard shines, your heart beats. You’ve come forth! The World Champion has come forth! A wave of sadness, but no shock, flows through you. Swimming to the side, you hope beyond hope; You will not be remembered as the one who lost the race; Rather the one who fought the fight. Climbing out the pool, you hold your head up high. You knew it might have to end this way. Standing on the side, looking across the disturbed water; You offer a small bow and give a little wave. People of import will know the significance of the tiny gestures. Leaving the arena you offer your hand in congratulations; You know now is the time to say goodbye. CommentsHelen Copeland 07/10/2011 10:37am
A wonderful blog Fran and I know this would have been a hard decision to make... Joan Brady 07/10/2011 8:13pm
Wishing you all the very best...thank you for sharing <3 Kim Bailey 07/10/2011 9:41pm
Hi Fran, Paul Townend 08/10/2011 2:50pm
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