Sports Assembly with Guest Speaker Karen Pickering

Wednesday, 10th March 2010

Karen Pickering, MBE, was this year’s speaker at Immanuel’s annual Sports Assembly. Karen was an outstanding member of the British swimming squad from 1986 to 2005 and has a collection of winning medals that include 8 World Championship medals (4 gold), 14 European Championship medals, 38 National Championship titles, and a Commonwealth Games medal haul of 13 including 4 gold medals.  For her services to swimming Karen was awarded an MBE in the 1994 New Years Honours List.

Karen spoke to the pupils and staff about her struggle to become the best in her field. Not believing at a young age that she had a natural talent for swimming, she recognized that she would have to work phenomenally hard to build up the strength and stamina needed for success.  Karen recalled at an interview for secondary school when she was asked what she wanted to do when she grew up. When she replied that she would like to go to the Olympics, the teacher laughed at her.  However, Karen had the last laugh as she has now taken part in 4 Olympic Games; (she received a letter from the teacher apologizing for laughing at her all those years before).

Karen explained that all athletes have to be able to fail, learn from that failure and come back from it even stronger. She described how tough training can be and how it pushes the body to its limits, but it is all worth it for those times when it goes right, – “to stand on the podium, hear the national anthem and hear the crowds cheering is the most amazing feeling – a feeling athletes crave.”

Disaster nearly struck when at the age of 24 Karen broke her back in a car accident. She didn’t know then if she would ever swim again, let alone compete professionally. Ignoring all the people who told her she should walk away from it all because she did not feel that she had yet fulfilled her potential, she spent three years training to get back to world championship level.

She ended her speech by recalling her victory in the 4x200m relay against the Australian team at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games; this was when she realised that even if on paper another competitor looks as if they should be the winner, if you want success badly enough and have driven yourself to the limit in preparation for the event, you will be the one to get the gold.

For photos of this event, please click here.