Cassie Patten, 21, a former swimming scholar at Plymouth College, has received official notification of her place on the GB team for 800m freestyle in Beijing. She qualified after coming second in the required time in the Olympic trials for 800m freestyle a couple of weeks ago.
An open water specialist, the qualification is a bonus for Cassie who hopes to also qualify for the 10K Open Water event, for which she won a silver medal in last year's World Championships. An Olympic event for the first time, the trials are being held in Seville in a couple of weeks.
Cassie joined Plymouth College in 2002 and was the school's first swimming scholar. Run in conjunction with Plymouth Leander, the elite swimming programme now boasts 25 swimmers who in the last couple of years have won World and European medals, competed in World Championship finals and have broken over 50 British and English records. Since 2004, fifteen have been selected for Great Britain and/or England swim teams, and national records are held by Plymouth College swimming scholars in five different countries around the world.
Now based in Stockport, Cassie is still a member of Plymouth Leander and trains several weeks a year with the club.
Plymouth College director of swimming, Jon Rudd, said: “The school's elite swimming programme has gone from strength to strength and it is fantastic to see the years of hard work and determination by both Cassie and her coaches come to fruition with her Olympic selection. I’m sure Cassie is just the first of many Olympians who will come from the Plymouth College/Plymouth Leander programme in the future.”
29/04/2008
For further information please contact Stephi Baker on 01752 203241
