december 2008 blog
Well December started again with a few appearances and events which saw me speaking at a Conference for Disability Sport and PE for Youth Sport Trust in Nottingham. I also met up with a group of French Exchange Students at my Local Pool and travelled to London again to speak at another DCSF Conference with Ed Balls.

The month again brought a few Award ceremonies to attend including the Notts Sports Disability Unit Awards Dinner where i picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Mansfield Sports Recognition Awards where i picked up the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year Award!....... The shelf is getting pretty full now!!!

Later in December i travelled to Swansea to attend a short Camp and then onto the Welsh Disability Championships in Swansea. I entered 3 events here and picked up 3 Gold's and swam a very pleasing time in my 400 Free which was very close to my World Record time....... pretty pleasing as i was in heavy training and again my coach was pretty happy too!!

The weekend of the Championships was pretty hectic and cut short as i whisked from Swansea to Liverpool to attend the BBC Sports Awards along with other Paralympic Medal winners. The event was fantastic and sureal to be mixing with so many sporting stars.
 
Well, what a hectic few months, and with my coaches agreement i took a few days out of the pool and Gym over Christmas and also New year! I was able to spend some time with my family and also my girlfriend Robyn and spent New Year in London at the Embankment.

What a year 2008!!........ I will never forget it i am sure!!
SAM

september 2008 blog

Hi it’s Sam                    
Well finally I have got round to sending you my Monthly update for September. Well what a Month! Where do I start!??
Remember my Moto
I Can... I Will... I Did..... Well...............I DID IT!!!!!!!
 
I still don’t think it has quite sunk in yet that I am Paralympic Champion and Gold Medallist in the S8 400 Freestyle and of course Bronze Medallist in the SM8 200 IM !
 
It has been an awesome month and I have loved every minute of it and I want to say a really BIG thank you to every single person who has helped me get there !

Making the Paralympic Team for Beijing has been a great experience and to achieve my goal of an Individual GOLD Medal at my First Games and a Bronze is just awesome!

Thank you to Kellogg's for fantastic support which has helped me reach that podium in Beijing and hopefully will do in 2012!!.... My Goal now is 2012 !!.... Bring it On !!!
 
The Facilities', Venues and the Paralympic Village out in Beijing were awesome.... The Cube was so fantastic to race in and I just loved it!

I had fantastic support from everyone on the team both Athletes' support staff and of course my Lane Coach Lars Humer!!..... Thanks Guys
 
I competed in 5 individual events. 100 Free, 100 Breast, 200 IM, 400 Free, and 50 Free and made the Final in all but the 50 Free (I am not a sprinter!!!) I achieved a PB in every event which was very pleasing!! I also swam in the 34pt  4x100 Medley Relay and we made the Final in that too so for my first Paralympic Games I gained valuable experience!!
 
I had done a lot of mental edge work and preparation leading up to the Games and this helped me stay focused and not get too nervous at all!!!.... I loved it!!
 
My 200 IM Final was a very close finish in which I took Bronze (my first ever Paralympic Medal!).... and of course my first visit to the Podium!..... It Felt SO GOOD!! And made me even more determined to do well in my main event the 400 Freestyle which was the following day.
 
The heat of my 400 Free saw me smash my World Record so this gave me a lot of confidence going into the Final that evening I was swimming in lane 5 with the Australian one side of me and the Chinese Swimmer the other.... I WAS UP FOR IT!!

The Australian went out fast on the first 50 but I kept with him and knew I could put the pressure on him during the race! The feeling when I touched that wall and realised I had won Gold and in another World Record time was surreal and the best feeling in the World!

Or I thought it was until I stepped on the middle of the Podium to receive my Gold Medal with the National Anthem playing for me and seeing the Union Jack Flag !!.... This feeling was Even Better!!!!

I was so proud to have won the Gold Medal for GB and it was great to have all the GB Supporters shouting for me including my Mum, Dad and brother Ollie !

I spoke to my coach Glenn Smith on the phone back home and he was so proud of me!
 
I returned back to England with 2 Paralympic Medals having broken 7 British Records, 3 European Records, 2 World Records, 2 Paralympic Records a GOLD and Bronze Medal and many Memories that I will never forget!!!!......Plus lots of determination in me for 2012!!!
 
Life since I returned has been Manic to say the least and I guess will never quite be the same which is surreal!

I have done many TV/ Radio interviews and also had lots of requests for appearances...... It’s Crazy!!!!

More on that next month I guess!!
Catch up soon!                          
SAM

august 2008 blog

I know this is a few days early but I just thought I would send you an update before I leave!
I am literally almost ready to leave now as I send you this and the Paralympic GB Swim team fly out to the Holding Camp in Macau this evening... I am so excited that this day has finally come and as training has gone well I leave feeling very happy and certainly up for the Job I have to do out in China !!

The Paralympic Games open 2 weeks today on the 6th September so I still have a valuable 2 weeks for both aclimatisation and final preparations !... it is going to be an Awesome experience and I am so greatful that I have been given this chance and this Honour to represent my Country out there!...

Again BIG Thanks to everyone for supporting me and to everyone in ''Team Hynd '' !! I will try to send you a quick update from Macau but if I don't get chance I am sure I will have plenty to update you all on when I return at the end of September!
Catch up soon!!                             SAM

july 2008 blog

Well as promised at the end of my blogg last month I said I would let you know how I got on training at the Performance centre in Manchester............. What can I say but Fantastic!

Training went really well with my coach Glenn Smith and I managed to put in 63K in the pool, which I would say was pretty good! It was a very busy week but I enjoyed every minute and it was good to catch up with some of the British Disability Staff there too and access some of the support services helping me with vital preparation for Beijing!...... Thanks Guys!!!
I was able to catch up with our head GB Coach Lars Humer who will be my coach out in China! ... Wicked!! My step test went well showing I am in good shape ahead of the Games and my training is well on track!

It was great also to get chance to meet Kate Hannah from Kellogg's < good to see Bruce too! >and I also had the chance to do an interview with James Hickman, which was pretty Cool!!
 
This month has been very busy in other ways too and I have had the chance to do some Radio Interviews as well as some filming for ITV Central! ... Big Thanks to everyone for there support!

I have now received my official Kit for Beijing and it is just Awesome... I had great fun trying it all on that’s for sure!
I am so proud to be a Paralympian and I will wear my Kit with Pride in Beijing!!... come on GB!!! The full Paralympic Team were also given a weekend of Celebration in Birmingham by Paralympics GB which was very special and a memory I will not forget!
We were kitted out with our Parade wear and Formal Wear for the Games and had a full team Photo. We then had a Gala Celebration Dinner at the NIA on the Saturday Evening.
 
Last night I returned from Sheffield, which has been my home for the past 6 days! Where I have been competing at the asa National Championships at Ponds Forge it has been a tough week as I swam through the competition as we are now only a few weeks away now from the Games in Beijing! My goal for the Championships was to put in some strong performances but concentrating on producing some good racing skills!!
I am pleased with my performance and will now be talking to my coach to make those all-important final improvements in the remaining few weeks!

I took GOLD in the 400 Freestyle posting a time, which was less than a second off my World Record time which gives me a lot of confidence for this event in Beijing!! I also took GOLD in the 100 Freestyle and I took SILVER in the 200 IM recording a new British and EUROPEAN Record!!!... Wicked and unexpected in Heavy training!!
 
Well just 34 more days till the Paralympics and I am so excited!... 34 more days of improvement though first!!
I will catch up soon before I leave for China and update you on how things are going!
                                         SAM

june 2008 blog

Just an update on what I have been up to in June!............. Lots of Tough work in the Pool and Gym and plenty of Sleep!!! < Oh and Lots of Food of course including my Cereal Bars!! >
June has seen me put some real hard work into my training ahead of Beijing and lots of preparation work too!............ It's all going well!!!!
I have clocked up about 56 K In the water each week and now doing 4 Gym sessions 2 of which are with Matt my S+C Coach at the EIS IN Loughborough and also 2 Med Ball sets a week too!! ........... My weekly massage is a life saver!!!
Beijing is getting really close now and I am getting quite excited!........... Only 64 Days to go now till the Start of the Paralympics!!....... Come On GB !!!!
I am off to Manchester soon for a week with my Coach Glenn Smith to train at the High Performance Centre with our head GB Coach Lars Humer...................It will be a good week for my Beijing Preparations as I will get lots of support from the support team like Biomechanics. Physiology and Nutrition................... I als have my all important Step Test!!
But More on that and how it went next month !............................. Off training now
So catch up soon !                                       SAM

................. Just something I forgot to tell you about in my June Update!...........I received something really special from my Base Club Sutton SC in that I was made an Honorary Member of the Club in recognition of my Achievements and I am only the second person in 81 Years to receive this honour so this is just fantastic of them !
                                                  SAM

may 2008 blog

Well May 2008 !...... MEGA!!!......... Where do i start!........
1st May 2008!.......... The agonising wait was over as the GB Paralympic Nominated Athletes were named !............ YES ! i was on the list.........part of my BIG Dream was reality!!................Confirmation has since been given that i really am going to Beijing!!!
I have been selected to swim 5 Individual Events and possibly a relay??!!
 
Following on from the 2 Paralympic Trials i had been selected to swim for GB at the Paralympic World Cup which was fantastic news!......... I have attended the previous PWC Events in Manchester as a spectator and to support my team mates and always wished that one day i would get to compete!......... My Dream came true with my selection this year and i was selected to swim my main Event the 400 Free which was just awesome news!
I headed for Manchester on the 8th May to join the selected GB Team where we did some training together which is always great and also to firstly compete in the Prelim Event on the Friday.......... I swam the 400 Free as a warm up ready for the PWC and managed to pick up the MD GOLD Medal!!

On the Saturday we headed for the Aquatic Centre for the PWC which was Televised by the BBC!.......... I was swimming in the S8 400 Freestyle which fell towards the end of the programme so got to see some very exciting racing before my swim........... some of the World's top Paralympic Athletes were at the event none so less as for my event!......... The top 4 World ranked swimmers in the S8 400 Free would be going head to head  < me included!!! >in what was my first full International straight classification race i had ever swam!!...... No Pressure!!!!......... i did feel a bit nervous but i felt good and was up and ready and well prepared for it!!
I went in lane 5 and i had the Chinese swimmer in lane 4 next to me and the Australian in 6!
It was a fantastic race and i really enjoyed it!..............I had so much support from the GB Squad and Staff < Thanks Guys!! > and also the spectators many of which had travelled to Manchester specially!........... Big Thanks to everyone for their support as it meant so much and especially to my Family and my little brother Ollie who had just come out of hospital!
To my Coach Glenn Smith who came to support me and all my friends !....... The noise was terrific!!!

I won GOLD in a new WORLD Record time ! and it was so awesome to stand in the middle of the Podium to receive my first Major International Medal!...... I felt very proud to wear my GB Tracksuit that's for sure!!............ Come On GB !!!!!
 
In between training hard in the Pool and Gym i have been busy revising for my AS Level exam which i sat on the 20th May before flying out later that day to Germany
The whole GB Paralympic Swim Team travelled to Berlin for an Orientation Camp and also to Compete at the German Open Championships
The camp was great and as a team we got to find out more info about the Games and Beijing and i got to do some Fantastic training with Lars our head GB Coach
I swam art the German Open last year and knew it was a great event but as this was Paralympic Year the event was certainly going to be Big AND fast!!
I had by this stage had a busy 2 months of very important racing and my coach had warned me that as a result my times may be slightly off my best!........... i went determined to put in a BIG Effort and to Race HARD!!
The first day saw me swimming in the S8 200 Free which is an event i hold the World Record for............ I was pleased to put in a Strong swim in the Heats to lower the World Record but felt a little fatigued in the Final to swim just off that pace to take Gold in the Junior Class
I also got to swim the First leg of the 4x 100 Freestyle Relay and gained a good PB and a new British Record!
The following day i swam the SM8 200 IM and again i swam a solid Heat improving on this in the Final to swim just 0.7 outside my European Record Time and again i took Gold in the Junior Class
The last day of competition on the Sunday i was swimming the S8 400 Free and i was up for it!!
I swam the heats and felt very good throughout the swim..... i lowered the World Record which amazingly was the 4th time i had lowered it in the space of just over a month!............ i knew i had more though for the final and felt good!
I made the 'A ' Final which was Multi disability and it had some top Paralympic Swimmers in it all performing well!!.............. I pushed it hard and my pacing went well throughout the race and i lowered my World Record again by an amazing 3 seconds!!..............It was awesome to see my time on the scoreboard and i now intend to build on that now into the Games in September!!
 
Finally a Massive Thank you !! to Kelloggs for the Awesome news of my continued Sponsorship into 2009!!............... Thanks guys you are helping me live my dream of being able to train and compete to reach that Ultimate Podium hopefully!!!............. Bring on Beijing!!
Catch up soon!                                       

april 2008 blog

Well as promised at the end of last month's blog, more of my news from the British Championships / 1st Paralympic Trials.

As I said following my World Record Swim in the S8 400m Freestyle on the first day of the trials, I had 4 more events to swim.

The first of those was the 100m Breaststroke where I put in a solid heat swim and then bettered that in the final to gain a very pleasing pb!

The 3rd day of the Trials I swam in the 100m Freestyle that is an event I enjoy swimming but I don't focus on the sprint events as much in my training as I am more a distance swimmer than a sprinter!

The heat again saw me put in a solid swim to gain a pb and I was determined to better that going into the final placed 4th at that point on MD Points.

I did just that to gain another pb and break the British Record! And take the Bronze medal! Job well done!

I then had a very welcomed day off from racing and I was able to watch some of my GB Team mates racing too!

The following day saw me again competing in a sprint event that I don't really train for - the 50m Free.

I was over the moon to break that all important 30-second barrier at last and produced a pb and yes, I broke the British Record! Wicked!

The last day of the Trials saw me swimming my 2nd best event the 200m IM.

I knew this was going to be tough at the end of a long hard week of racing but i was determined to post that second Beijing Qualifying time and hold my form and produce a good swim!

The heat went really well and I swam a pb and lowered my European Record  awesome!

I went into the final determined to better that even more, and I did. I lowered my European Record by another 1.2 seconds and took the MD Bronze medal.

My Motto -  ”I Can... I Will,..... I DID”

Well we travelled home on the Sunday and my coach had given me a day off to rest on the Monday so put in a lot of zzzzzz's before returning to the pool to hit the training on Tuesday evening.

I had just less than 3 Weeks work before  was back at Sheffield for the 2nd Paralympic Trials where i knew I had to follow up my performance if not better it to hopefully secure my selection for the GB Paralympic Team.

So on Thursday evening the 24th April I travelled back to Sheffield for the Disability International L/C Championships / 2nd Trials

Many International Athletes were at these Championships that included some of my rivals too - a great Challenge!

The Championships were over 3 days so I knew it was going to be tough and my coach had not tapered me for this event either.

My first event again was my main event the 400m Free and this time i had the heat in the morning followed by the evening final.

I swam the heat and felt awful in the water but as I was only 2 and a half seconds off my lifetime best I knew I could improve on that in the final!

In the evening came the final and I felt really good throughout the race.

My coach Glenn Smith had travelled to Sheffield to be there for the race which was great and as I was swimming. I saw his reaction from poolside and realised I was on for a good time!

As I touched and saw the scoreboard I was delighted to see I had lowered my World Record again by another 1.3 seconds!  My second World Record in just 3 weeks and of course a Beijing Qualifying Time!

Over the weekend I swam some solid races and lowered my British Record in the 100m Free as well

I came away with 3 gold and 5 silver medals and also hopefully a performance in the pool enough to secure my selection to the Paralympic Team bound for Beijing!

I would have to wait  and hope as the team would be announced on the 1st May - 4 agonising day's to wait!

So watch this space for my next months Blog to hear the outcome!!

Catch up soon                            

march 2008 blog

After landing back in England at the begining of the month from a warm weather camp in Florida, 3 day's later saw me back competing in the pool at the final session of the Nottinghamshire County Championships.

I swam in the 100m I.M and produced a very pleasing performance on top of a bit of 'Jet Lag'! to take the SM8 British, European and WORLD S/C Records (subject to ratification) with a 1.5 second PB!

The rest of the month I was doing my final preparations in training with my coach Glenn ahead of the first Paralympic Trials which were to be held at Sheffield at the British Championships.

My aim for the championships to put in some good performances, achieve qualifying times hopefully good enough to make the Team for the Beijing Paralympics!

The Trials started on Monday the 31st March and saw me competing in my first event which was my main event the 400m Freestyle! No Pressure!

I felt quite calm going into the event and I love swimming the 400 Free!

The race went well and I produced a good solid swim taking off 1.5 seconds to give me a lifetime best time and breaking the S8 British, European and WORLD Record - a record that was held by a Chinese swimmer who was my main rival in this event! I also posted a Beijing Qualifying time for the Paralympics!!!..... Mega!!!.....First Goal achieved!!!!

That evening I went with my strength and conditioning coach Matt who had come to Sheffield to see the swim and my Mum to celebrate at the local Chinese restuarant.

The following 5 days saw me competing in 4 more events so watch this space for my update in next months blog to see how it went!!

I have my 2nd Trials at the end of April too so watch this space!
 
Catch up soon!


february 2008 blog

The first week of February saw me swimming with my base club Sutton Swimming Club under our coach Grenn Greaves at the Nottinghamshire Short Course County Championships.

I went to the Championships hoping to put in a strong performance but also knowing that I was competing on the back of heavy training.

On the Saturday morning I completed a training set at Nottingham Nova and then headed for the Championships to swim the 400m Freestyle.

I took the courage to declare to the judge that I was looking to lower my own records.... British, European and maybe World Record!

The event had been approved by the IPC so that if any records were broken they could be put forward for ratification.
I set the S/C World record at the National Short Course Championships in November so I really wasn't sure if I would better that just yet!

I was extremely pleased with my swim and felt good in the water but felt even better when I discovered I had lowered my own S8 British, European and World Records by 3 seconds!

I then swam the 200m Breaststroke in the evening, an event I dont get chance to swim often. I put in another good solid swim to lower the SB8 British, European and World Records by 2 seconds!

My final swim of the weekend was on  Sunday..... the 200m Freestyle.

Again I was pleased with this swim but again an event I dont get chance to race very often.I lowered the S8 British, European and World Record by 3 Seconds!

A good weekends work then... 3 British, 3 European and 3 World Records and lots of confidence ahead of the Beijing Paralympic Trials...... watch out China!

The following  week I had a visit from the British Disability Swimming staff for my Step Testing. I did my best ever test and almost hit my new World Record time on the last 200m of the test.

Pretty good I would say and so did Lars my Head GB Coach but I am looking to do even better next time though.

The following weekend saw me boarding a plane from Heathrow with 11 other Nova swimmers heading for Fort Lauderdale in Florida for a 2 week training camp in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Trials.

The other swimmers were all able-bodied swimmers so this was good for me as it pushed me in training to train along side  them giving me quality training.

We all worked very hard but really enjoyed it and had great fun and to train outdoors in some very warm weather was a bonus. I have a good tan and a few goggle marks!

We are all looking forward to seeing the rewards from the intense training at the trials!

Only 3 weeks left now till the Trials start so it's get down to some more smart training here in COLD GB and do those final preparations.

Watch this space!


january 2008 blog

Well 2008 has finally kicked off and the real hard work has started but I am loving it!

January has seen my training in the pool increase from about 45km a week to almost 60km per week. I have started training for longer in a morning with my coach and I am also doing 2 S+C sessions each week now at the EIS at Loughborough.

No pain.............. No Gain!

On the 10 January I travelled to London to do some filming for LOCOG which was done at London Fields Lido. This was a really awesome day but it was sure cold....and Wet!

I had never once thought I would be swimming out doors in freezing cold temperatures in the middle of January. It was worth it though! The film crew guys were great and really looked after me and to be involved in promoting the London 2012 Games is awesome
 
On 16 January I attended the Nottinghamshire Junior Sports Awards in Newark which was again a fantastic event hosted by Andrew James. I was named reigning Nottinghamshire Junior Disabled Sportsperson of The Year! I was shocked but very very pleased to receive the award and my trophy has taken pride of place!
 
Well it is now not long till the Paralympic Trials and as part of my preparation my coach requested I swam my main event the 400m Freestyle at 2 able-bodied Open meets. They were both held at Sheffield and were held 2 weeks apart.

This was going to give me valuable race practice ahead of the Trials but I was going to swim at both meets on the back of heavy training!

I swam the first meet and was very pleased to swim within 0.7 of my PB and also my European Record!

The second meet again I had just completed almost a 60K training week but was very encouraged to produce a Personal Best time that in an IPC Sanctioned meet would have been a new British and European Record! Bring it on I say!
 
I now have 2 more weeks training before I head to Florida with my club, Nova for a Pre-Olympic Training camp......wicked......... more on that next time!