Katy Sexton MBE, OLY
Britain's first female world champion swimmer
Olympic Games 2000, 2004
World Championships 2003 Gold, Silver, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2007 (SC 1999 finalist)
Commonwealth Games 1998 Gold, 2002 Bronze, 2006 finalist
European Championships 1999 Bronze,
European Championships SC 2000 Silver
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Personal Trainer Level 3, Pre & Post natal PT, Swim teacher Level 2, Swim Coach Level 1
Mark Foster Swim Academy coach - 2013 to date
Katy Sexton Swim Academy, Portsmouth - owner/operator of individual & group lessons
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Katy first competed for her country at just 13 years old. Throughout her career Katy experienced a range of highs and lows including a 6 month period away from the water following a career threatening injury in 2001. Making a comeback in 2002 she won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth games and the following year was the first British woman to win a World Championship gold medal. Katy has broken British, European and Commonwealth records and was awarded an MBE in 2003 for her services to swimming.
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Keeping swim journals for 15 years helped Katy log her training, plan and prepare for races and review what was going well and what needed work on. They also proved valuable to her coach who used the information to understand more about Katy and get the best out of her.
Katy says "I am so proud of 'My Swim Journal'. It has been a long lived dream to produce something like this to help young swimmers and the response we are already getting has been fantastic.
In the modern age of technology we did consider producing an app however quickly realised that it wasn't what we wanted to do for a number of reasons. Having something physical in your hands that you can easily look through and feel was important. It is also well documented that writing down goals means you are more likely to achieve them and a written journal also allows for easy reading, reviewing, sharing and ultimately bigger success.
It's great to know that I will be helping hundreds of swimmers to reach their potential, just like writing journals helped me to become the best I could possibly be."
Ali Phesse
Former national champion, masters swimmer and parent of 3 swimmers.
A National swimmer as a teenager, Ali has continued to compete in many different sports over the years including triathlon, water polo, endurance swimming & running marathons. Returning to masters swimming in 2013 (then aged 43) she has won numerous medals at National Masters events, achieved British Masters records and competed at European Masters and World Masters where she won 3 medals in 2017.
With a long & successful career in leisure management, Ali manages the Mark Foster Swim Academy where she has also been a coach since 2013.
Ali has over 28 yrs experience as a swim teacher/coach with professional diplomas in Personal Training & Sports Coaching, Nutrition, Sports Psychology, Sports Science & Sports Therapy. She has a passion for nurturing & developing the stars of tomorrow and, with 3 daughters who all swam County to National level, she also has a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the challenges of being a swim parent.
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Ali is based in Cornwall where she runs New Habits Ltd, a company specialising in food intolerance, exercise and wellness coaching. More information can be found on her facebook page @newhabitscornwall
