Camilla Hattersley

We have watched Camilla’s progress for a few years now and have been proud of her achievements. It has been a privilege for our Club to be able to support her career.

Following her 7th place in the 800m Freestyle final at Glasgow 2014 for Scotland, she was selected for the British swimming squad  in the 2016 Olympic games. Camilla has also taken medals over 800m Freestyle at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 British Championships.

The pinnacle of her career has to be her 5th place in the 800 metre freestyle final  on the 9th April at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Swimming outdoors for the first time in front of 10,000 fervently patriotic people was quite an experience.

Camilla spoke with Rotarian Chris Kirk on Tuesday about her career. Now retiring at the age of 23 after 15 years in competitive sport, she explained the sacrifices and hardships which accompanied her journey. She illustrated her comments by telling us her training was 25 hours a week beginning at 4.30 am for 5 days a week. She has had no regrets having enjoyed the tremendous challenges along the way and has made lasting friendships.

When asked about the possibility of coaching, Camilla was specific about her future in engineering and commitments wouldn’t allow her the time to coach. However, she did say she intends to continue with motivational speaking to groups of youngsters.

Amazingly, she has found time to pursue a degree in aeronautical engineering at Glasgow University and will be leaving soon to pursue her studies in Australia. On the relaxing side, she intends to keep fit and continue swimming for fun.