Dewsbury swimmer cleans up at national championships
10 August 2007
Matthew Johnson won a total of 9 gold medals and 2 silver medals at the Amateur Swimming Association Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield last week.
In the boys 12 years 400m Freestyle Matthew used his strong finish to great advantage to take the title. He swam shoulder to shoulder with nearest rival Joseph Poynter for the first half of the race but timed his run into the finish line well, slowly easing ahead of the field after the 250m mark. Matthew then went onto take the 200m Breaststroke title in some style.
Dewsbury and Mirfield MP Shahid Malik paid a visit to Matthew in his Thornhill Lees home on Sunday: "This is truly a fantastic achievement and as the local MP I feel very proud of Mathew and I know that this sense of pride at his substantial achievements will be shared by all in our towns. His individual medal success is a reflection on his unique talent but also on his complete dedication. I think there is every chance that he could go on to be one of this country's great swimmers and it would be a dream come true if he were to fly the flag at the 2012 Olympics."
The newly appointed government minister is actively looking for support for Matthew and said that he would be writing to the Amateur Swimming Association to try to ensure that an appropriate development programme was put in place for the talented youngster.
"Our sports organisations need to nurture, develop and encourage Mathew with his very special talent and I would like to see the ASA continue to give every possible assistance to help Matthew realise his full potential as an athlete" said Shahid.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "Matthew's stunning success at the national junior tournament is great to see, and I hope that it encourages even more people to get into swimming."
Head Coach from Matthew's City of Leeds swimming club, Ian Grayson, was clearly pleased with Johnson's performances: "Matthew has worked hard and has put in some great times and performances all this week," he said.
"For the 400m freestyle, we knew Matthew had a strong finish, so the plan was to stay near the front of the pack and pull away in the final phase of the race. This he did with great effect."
"Eight gold medals is a great haul from one championship, and among his many highlights I was particularly impressed with his performances in the 400m IM, 200m Butterfly and 1500m Freestyle. He has swum a wide and varied programme and his results show we are working well as a team and moving in the right direction."
Matthew's Mum, Sharon, said that she was very proud of her son and that his vigorous training regime, which includes getting up at 4.30am every weekday, was behind the success: "The whole family is very proud of Matthew, but he works hard training eight times per week, and we're all very supportive of what he does."