Rachel in action at Commonwealth Games

Lisburn girl Rachel Bethel got her first taste of the Commonwealth Games this morning when she competed in the Women’s 200m Freestyle.
Lisburn swimmer Rachel Bethel is the youngest member of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games team.Lisburn swimmer Rachel Bethel is the youngest member of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games team.
Lisburn swimmer Rachel Bethel is the youngest member of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games team.

14-year-old Rachel, a pupil at Wallace High School, is Northern Ireland’s youngest competitor.

The local girl took part in Heat 2 of the event, finishing seventh out of eight swimmers, in the heat which was won by Australian Bronte Barratt, a gold medal winner at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

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The heat also included Australian Brittany Elmslie, a gold medal winner at the London 2012 Olympics and Scotland’s Caitlin McClatchey, a double gold medal winner at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Rachel overcame injury to make the Northern Irish team, having reached her qualifying time in her final swim within the qualifying period.

Before the Games she said she hoped to achieve a Personal Best time in Glasgow and is already looking to the future as she aims to make the next Commonwealth Games squad for Australia in 2018.

“I’m very excited, “ Rachel said. “It’s an amazing opportunity and the first step hopefully to another Commonwealth Games. It’s my hobby and hopefully I will have a career out of it.”

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