ANDERSON Freya

General
BASE MOVE
In mid-2020 she made the move from her long-time coach Alan Bircher at the Ellesmere Titans Swimming Club to British Swimming's High Performance Centre in Bath, England. "I've been there [Ellesmere] since I was 14 and it hasn't got the best facilities, it's only got a four-lane 25-metre pool and two squat racks in the gym. I could only see a physio once a week. Until the Olympics [2020 Games in Tokyo] were postponed, I was going to make the move to Bath after 2020, ready to start the next cycle. When the Games were postponed, my coach and I just agreed that it's probably the best thing to do. I'd outgrown Ellesmere a bit. I needed something new, I need to be in the senior environment that Bath has. That's going to be what makes the difference, being in the professional environment and having everything you need around me. I'll be keen to learn from the other, older swimmers around me, to see how they go about things and hopefully that will rub off on me." In 2021 she said that the move, along with the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, has helped her. "I think this extra year has served me well. In the pool and outside the pool, I just feel I have become a lot more professional." (eurosport.com, 23 Jul 2020; dailymail.co.uk, 14 Apr 2021)

OVERCOMING SHYNESS
She feels that swimming has helped her to overcome her shyness. "Doing swimming has definitely helped with other stuff in my life. My parents have seen how much I've changed and developed. Even my friends, when they watch my interviews, they all know my first few interviews were awful with one word answers. To go from that to me now, maybe it's shocked people, but I think they're proud." She feels comfortable in the pool. "I just love racing so much. I can stand up and race in front of 10,000 people, but I struggle to talk publicly to 30 people. I just feel at home in the pool and in a race suit." (telegraph.co.uk, 30 Dec 2018)

ALLERGIES AND FEARS
She is allergic to chlorine and scared of some water but doesn't let this hold her back. "Certain chlorines agitate my skin. I have had it diagnosed four times. It was an allergy to chlorine, then a fungal infection, then it was eczema. In certain pools it flares up and it's really painful. It will last for four or five days but I've got to live with that. It's not ideal for a swimmer! I hate the sea and rivers and lakes. I couldn't step foot in one if I was paid to do it." (dailymail.co.uk, 14 Apr 2021)