HARVINGTON swimmer Cameron Brodie returned to his home club in Evesham last week following a summer to remember.
In July, his efforts swimming for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games were well documented as Brodie excelled.
Qualifying fastest for the final of the 200m butterfly, he swam even faster in the final (1 minute, 56.59 seconds) but agonisingly finished in fourth place – a fraction of a second behind the silver and bronze positions.
Despite the immediate disappointment, he was able to gain satisfaction from being the top British swimmer, moving up several levels in world swimming.
“Fourth place sucks,” was his immediate response in the post-race interview, “but it is a great personal best time and my first Scottish National Senior record. It can’t be all bad.”
Clearly in form, Brodie was drafted into the teams for both the 4x100m medley relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay.
In the freestyle relay his efforts were limited to the heats, helping the Scottish team make the final, from where they secured a silver medal.
“The same happened in the Delhi Games (2010 Commonwealth Games) four years ago and, although it would have been nice to gain a medal through my own individual efforts, it’s nice to receive a medal in this way, offering a tangible reminder of a great week in Glasgow.” commented Brodie.
His excellent performance provided him with his first senior call-up to the Great Britain team that competed just a couple of weeks later in Berlin.
His times in the heats and semi-finals would have been lifetime bests before his time in Glasgow, but they were not fast enough to make the final in Germany.
Reflecting after the race, he was a little disappointed by his times, wondering if the emotion and efforts of the previous month had started to take their toll.
Looking forward, Brodie is now ranked 23rd in the world for this year and, having just turned 22, he is well placed to make waves in the years ahead.
“I now have a two-week break from the pool, giving me a chance to relax and improve my golf. After that, it is all about putting in the hard work in the winter months to build a platform from where I can progress from in 2015,” he concluded.
Cameron Brodie in action. (s)
Cameron Brodie (right) immediately after the 200m butterfly final in Glasgow, next to South African gold medallist Chad le Clos, the Olympic and world champion who Brodie defeated in the heat. (s)