CELYN EDWARDS – INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE

CELYN EDWARDS – INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE

We’re chuffed to see hard working local lad Celyn Edwards (17) doing so well in the world of swimming.  Celyn lives locally in Halswell and attends Hillmorton High School.  He swims with the Selwyn Swim School out at Rolleston and is coached by Ben Close.  Over the last year or two, he has been smashing national swimming records and regularly recording personal best times.

Celyn is a para athlete as a result of losing an arm at the age of 5 in a car accident.  Inspired meeting Sophie Pascoe and Mary Fisher, he  has been steadily training and wants to get as far as he can as a para athlete.  Right now, that looks like it will be a significant set of achievements.    He began swimming out at Rolleston with the Selwyn Swim School in 2013.  By 2015, he began swimming at national level and now holds 23 national records (wow!). 

Celyn swam internationally for the first time in July 2017 in Berlin – at a world Para Swimming event where he set an Oceania record for 50m breaststroke.  He then competed earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games held on the Gold Coast in Australia.  He swam in the final of both of the Commonwealth Games events he entered, coming 6^th in the final of the 100m breaststroke and 4^th in the 400m individuals medley in times that most of the rest of us can’t imagine getting anywhere near.

Celyn Edwards (photo courtesy of Selwyn Swim Club)

It is clear that Celyn is still regularly achieving personal bests.  Recently, for example, he swam a massive  10 seconds  under the current 200m butterfly WORLD record in a swim meet in Ashburton.  While this time won’t count as the record, because it was not an internationally recognised event, it certainly bodes well for future international events. 

These achievements and the dedication of this young man will also be a big part of the reason why he holds the 2018 Graham Condon Scholarship.  This scholarship is awarded each year to an athlete who has not yet reached the highest level in their sport, but through outstanding commitment, attitude and ability, demonstrates the potential to achieve this in the future. 

If all this is not enough, Celyn is also a keen road cyclist, mountain biker, skier and rugby player.