There was medal success to celebrate for Lewis Burras of Dubai’s Hamilton Aquatics Swimming Academy as he secured a bronze in the 50m freestyle at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Helsinki this week.
Lewis, who was representing Great Britain at the event and has previously been crowned British Junior Champion, went one step further as he made his mark on the international stage in the Finnish capital.
After strong performances in the heat and semi-final, Lewis secured an impressive third-place finish in the final of the 50m freestyle with a time of 22.69 seconds, less than 0.5 seconds behind Sweden’s Bjorn Seeliger who took gold in 22.2.
Burras was delighted with his performance in Finland but insisted that there are still areas which can be improved upon.
He said: “I am extremely happy to come away with a medal in a world class field. There are still so many things still to work on and I can only get better if I keep focused on my goals”.
Lewis has been a member of Dubai’s Hamilton Aquatics for nine years, where his coaches have witnessed him progress into the top-level swimmer that he is today.
Ash Morris, who has coached Lewis and is Hamilton Aquatics Director of Performance said: “We are all so proud of Lewis and his achievements, he deserves it. He is a great inspiration to others in the UAE and has proven that swimming at an international level is achievable if you dream big and work hard.”
Burras wasn’t the only member of Hamilton Aquatics taking part in the European Junior Championships. Francesca Falzon-Young, 17 years old and representing Malta, delivered her best times and came away with her highest ever placings at the European Junior Championships.
Both Lewis and Francesca attend JESS Arabian Ranches School and Coach Ash Morris was quick to thank the schools for supporting the swimmers.
She said: “JESS have been amazing in supporting the swimmers with their training and competitions – they have a great understanding of creating a balanced environment where swimmers can perform in and out of the pool”.
Hamilton Aquatics is the leading swimming academy in the UAE with over 5000 swimmers undertaking swimming training each week. Bookings can be done online on www.hamiltonaquatics.ae or by emailing enquiries@hamiltonaquatics.ae.