Louise Fiddes to switch on the Hatfield Christmas lights!

Swimmer Louise Fiddes was one of the stars of this summer’s Paris Paralympics, thanks to her golden touch in the pool – and the Welwyn Hatfield resident is now going to be bringing her sporting sparkle to the big Hatfield Christmas lights switch-on!

Louise will be joining us to switch on the lights in White Lion Square, following an afternoon of entertainment, including headline act, singer Daisy Pringle, on the main stage.

Over the course of a spectacular summer of sport, Louise won gold and bronze medals in Paris for the 100 metres breaststroke (SB14 category) and the 200 metres freestyle (S14) respectively. The category relates to having an intellectual impairment.

The Paralympian may have had a whirlwind of a summer but she’s been used to winning ways for some time. Louise took gold on her debut at the European Championships back in 2018 and has gone on to win medals of every colour at breaststroke in the Europeans and the World Championships, before making her Paralympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There she won silver and bronze medals. Now she has gone one better, storming to a truly fantastic Gold and Bronze for Team GB in Paris Paralympic Games in August!

“It’s really weighty!” Louise laughs in reference to her Paralympic gold medal, but it’s also, “a dream come true”.

Let’s go back a bit to where it all began….

Louise had always enjoyed swimming at her local swimming pool, Hatfield Swim Centre. Swimming for her “clicked” she says and gave her confidence. When did she know that she was good, and that this might lead somewhere?  “I did have a bit of a ‘wow’ moment” she says, referring to her fourteen-year-old self.

She is keen to convey how good her club was in shaping her swimming future. “They’ve been so supportive,” says Louise, “Hatfield Swim Club is definitely one of the best clubs in the country, I think.” The club – for which she does some training at Hatfield Swim Centre, but most at the University of Hertfordshire – is well set up for guiding its most promising swimmers towards national competition, she adds.

Louise was successful on the international stage immediately, with gold on her European debut, and in the World Championships in London a year later. But then came COVID and the stresses and constraints it brought. “I couldn’t to get back into it for a while,” Louise admits. But she began working with a new coach which gave her a renewed sense of purpose, and belief in her capabilities.

From there she participated in her first Paraplympics, winning a sliver in her favourite 100 metres Breaststroke (SB14) and a bronze in the 200m medley (S14).

What was your first Paralympics like? “It was a dream come true!” says Louise, happily. “It’s one thing seeing it on TV but something else to actually be there.”

But not surprisingly the contrast between the Tokyo Paralympics - on during COVID, when no spectators were allowed at the venues – and this summer’s Paralympics was huge for Louise and her fellow competitors. “I didn’t realise what I was missing out on!” she says, of the crowds that cheered her on in her events. “There was so much more atmosphere this time around and so many more people involved.”

“I have never experienced anything like it,” she adds, referring to the 15,000 spectators at La Defense Arena, where 141 medals were contested over 10 days between late August and early September.

As for the races themselves, and her winning 100 metres event – “I usually like to be slightly away from the middle lane,” she laughs, and she lined up in her final in lane 6. She qualified fourth for the event but in the final 50 metres Louise powered past Brazilian twins Beatriz and Debora Carneiro Borges to claim gold – “I knew that I could do it!”  The icing on the cake, she says, is getting her medal just after her roommate Ellie Challis had claimed GB’s first gold of the night. “It’s a day I’ll never forget.”

Louise wants to thank everyone who supported her along the way, particularly her coach, and her family, who were there every step of the way – “My family have always supported me,” she says.

“When I was younger it was by taking me to every session. This meant my dad would get up with me at 4.30am, drop me off at the pool then go to work. On his way home from work he would pick me up and take me to evening training.”

Louise knows that there was a real financial impact but appreciates that her family could see the end goal. “As a family we had to sacrifice a lot due to the cost of membership, equipment and competition. Swimming is a really expensive sport. But more importantly they always believed that I could achieve big things in swimming.

“Even to this day,” she adds, “they help me pick myself back up after rough competition or training session. All athletes need a support network.” The mental health of elite athletes has been much more talked about in recent years, and it’s great to see what strength Louise can draw from her supportive family.

And now onto working towards the next Paralympic Games in Los Angeles? “Yes, I’ve had a break and now it’s back to it!”.

But first, the Hatfield Christmas lights switch-ons!

How does it feel to be flicking the switch for the crowds back at home? “I’m really looking forward to it!” she says, “It’s different, but I think It will be right up there as one of my best ever experiences.”

See Louise at the Hatfield Christmas lights switch-on at 5.45pm on Saturday 23 November on the main stage in White Lion Square. Entertainment will begin at 2pm.