Having already booked his place for the 200m individual medley at this summer’s Paralympics - and also hoping to qualify for the 100m butterfly at the time of writing -
Taunton-born swimmer Cameron Vearncombe says he’s experiencing a mixture of ‘excitement and nerves’ ahead of making his Games debut. ‘I’ve just had a World Series competition in Berlin and I did quite well in the 200m individual medley, coming close to my PB (personal best),’ reflects Cameron on his preparations for the Paralympics. ‘I didn’t manage to set any PB’s at the Paralympic Trials (held earlier this year) but I was very happy to make the qualifying times. Looking ahead to Paris, it would be a dream to get on the podium.’
Cameron has enjoyed a medal-laden year already with bronze medals in both the 100m butterfly and 200m individual medley at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, following a trio of medals at the Aberdeen World Series event at the start of the season. He also qualified for three individual finals in his two most recent Para Swimming World Championships appearances at Madeira 2022 and Manchester 2023.
All this has been achieved by the age of 21 and in spite of the daily challenges he faces. ‘I am an S14 swimmer which means I have intellectual impairment,’ explains Cameron, who will celebrate his 22nd birthday on July 30. ‘I can get very anxious and nervous sometimes. I need to have a plan of every day and I get a lot of help with cooking. At a competition, my coaches help me with a timeline, so I know when to stretch, to warm up and get ready for the race.’
Cameron lives in Manchester, where he trains at the British Para-Swimming Performance Centre. While it’s in England’s North West that his swimming ability is honed, the South West and Somerset specifically was where his swimming adventure began. ‘I was born in Taunton and lived in Burnham-on-Sea until I was two years old,’ says Cameron. ‘Then I moved to Taunton and went to school at Bishops Hull until I was 11. My dad had me in the water at the age of two. I had hundreds of one-to-one lessons with a very good teacher called Sanchia Reed and my first competitive race was at the age of nine. I moved to Plymouth because my dad found a very good school called Brooke Green Centre for Learning which was specifically for children needing a lot of help. There I joined Plymouth Leander.
My first swimming club was Wellington. I have been a member with 10 swimming clubs but there are three that have helped me the most. That is Plymouth Leander, Caradon Swimming Club (in Cornwall) and Bridgwater Swimming Club. All of them have great coaches. I represent Bridgwater Swimming Club because I was born and bred in Somerset and all my family come from Somerset. The coach of Bridgwater is Ricky Haynes. I have known Ricky for about 10 years, and he has given me many opportunities and picked me for the Arena League, which is a competition I really love.’
