Brockenhurst College student Jonathan Thring wins gold at English National Swim Championships

BROCKENHURST College student Jonathan Thring is ending the season on a high after scooping gold at the English National Swim Championships in Sheffield last week.

The talented 16-year-old, who swims for the Seagulls Swimming Club and trains in New Milton and Christchurch, secured his national title swimming in the 17-year-old age group in the 800m freestyle competition with a season’s best time of 8.42.34.

The day before, he narrowly missed out on a bronze medal by just 0.15 seconds in the finals of the 400m freestyle, gaining a massive personal best of 4.11.44 and a new club record under the coaching of Seagulls Swimming Club’s head coach Martin Littlefair.

Jonathan, who previously attended Priestlands School in Lymington, has just completed his first year at Brockenhurst College, where he is studying for a T-level in Education and Early Childhood Development.

Thring participates in the Hampshire Talented Athlete Scheme (HTAS) supported by Hampshire County Council, and last year, he was selected by Swim England to participate in the Diploma in Sporting Excellence administered in conjunction with Loughborough College.

He recently completed his Level 1 swim coaching qualification and is a volunteer coach at Seagulls Swimming Club.

A talented sportsman, Thring also completed his Level 1 tennis coaching qualification and plays and coaches with Tennis21 under Tom Ellis at Lymington Tennis Club.