“Christmas is my favourite time of the year and I’d been counting down since September!” said Maisie Summers-Newton when we spoke to her yesterday.
The Northampton-based S6 swimmer fully deserved a few days of celebrations and family time, after what has been a stunning 2018. After winning gold at the British Para-Swimming International meet to secure her place on the place for the European Championships in Dublin, Summers-Newton made the podium her second home.
Kicking things off with victory in SM6 200n Individual Medley, Maisie returned home with four medals, three of them gold, to cap off a stunning breakthrough year. What’s more, combining with her British teammates, the Northampton SC athlete broke the 34pt 4x100m Medley Relay world record in the final event of the championships.
So back with the festivities, what exactly did Christmas look like in the Summers-Newton household?
"The big day itself followed our usual family tradition; we had Christmas dinner at my house with family and then went over to my Nan’s house where she cooked all the leftovers and stuff like a cheese board, crackers, grapes and desserts!
“I love Christmas dinner though and had turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, parsnips, stuffing, veg, brussel sprouts and gravy – the full works! There are always chocolates on the go too – this year it was Quality Street and they’re all gone, other than the blue and brown ones!”
Back in the pool, we asked Maisie how she manages her training over the festive period.
“I was given four days off over the Christmas period [23rd-26th] so today is my first day back in the pool. I’ll also get New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day off to spend some more quality time with the family but then it’s back to full training.”
In 2019 the all-rounder will look continue what has proven to be a winning formula.
“My goals for 2019 are to carry on training hard with the National Centre and Jacquie [Marshall, her coach], and to hopefully qualify for worlds!”
Splitting her time between Manchester and Northampton, whilst also finding time to study for A-Levels is no mean feat, but good time management has led to success both in and out of the pool this year. Let’s hope for more of the same in the New Year.
For tickets to see Maisie and the rest of the British Para-Swimmers in action in 2019 please click here.