FORMER Olympic swimmer Karen Pickering visited Mid Wales to promote the Swim4Fitness programme last week.
The highly decorated freestyler visited the Flash in Welshpool before heading down the road to Newtown’s Maldwyn Leisure Centre to deliver a new personalised swimming programme.
The sessions were aimed at passing down easy to follow instructions to swimmers of all levels as well as improving fitness.
Karen - who competed in four Olympic Games from 1992 to 2002 - said swimming was the ideal pastime for fitness and recreation and insisted the sport’s ‘boring’ tag was unjust.
“I have heard too many people saying that swimming is boring or won’t give them the quick results they are looking for.
“The Swim4Fitness programme is designed to make swimming fun and mixes up pace and strokes so the swimmer gets a more beneficial work-out.
“It’s all about ensuring the swimmer gets more out of swimming, using more equipment and having fun.”
Flash manager Rebecca Sutton said: “It was an honour to have Karen in Welshpool and she passed on some invaluable tips to swimmers.”
Participant Dean Hammond added: “I noticed an increase in the power of my stroke within 10 minutes of Karen starting her session.”
Further details are available at www.swim4fitness.com