Monday the 11th of May saw the crowning of the Swimming WA 2020 Coach of the Year and Multi-Class Swimmer of the Year. With a strong list of nominees for both Coach and MC Swimmers, it’s clear swimming in WA has had a very successful 2019/20 season.
Ben Popham (Arena, c: Simon Redmond) has been named the Multi-Class Swimmer of the Year for 2020 after an incredible season which saw him breakthrough as one of the most dominant Para Swimmers in Australia.
Popham, who pipped other worthy recipients, Tegan Reder (Victoria Park, c: Chris Jongsma) and Jeremy McClure (South Shore, c: Chris Twomey), had another whirlwind season. The 2019 Hancock Prospecting Swimming Trials saw Popham swim in the final of the 50m, 100m and 400m Freestyle, claiming Silver in the 100m Freestyle behind Queensland’s Rowan Crothers. Based on his phenomenal performances, Popham was selected to represent Australia at the 2019 IPC Para Swimming World Championships.
The World Championships were Popham’s first opportunity to race on an international stage, (previously qualifying for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships) and he arrived emphatically. In Popham’s “pet event”, the S8 100m Freestyle, the Arena youngster came tantalisingly close to the dream start as he claimed an impressive Silver medal finishing in 57.89, just 0.2 seconds behind Gold.
Popham went on to win Bronze in the S8 50m Freestyle and joined his Australian teammates to win another Bronze in the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle (34 points), capping off an incredible debut and putting his name forward as one of the brightest stars in Australian Swimming.
Popham credits the strong culture within Australian Para Swimming that pushes him to develop and hopes with the rising stars in Western Australia, more Para Swimmers within the state can make the leap to the Australian team.
A former Telethon Star, Popham is an inspiration for disabled children throughout Australia and with his strong relationship with Simon Redmond (Arena), this will certainly not be the last time you hear his name, as he works to achieve his goal of a 2021 Paralympic Gold Medal and a potential World Record.
Popham credits his success to Simon Redmond, who in turn has been named the 2020 Swimming WA Coach of the Year. Redmond claims this honour after an immensely successful 2019/20 season which saw Ben Popham and Alyssa Burgess (Arena) both achieve on the international stage. Redmond beat out some fierce competition from Michael Palfery (WAIS) and Chris Twomey (South Shore) who also had swimmers race for Australia this season.
Redmond, a long-standing elite coach in Western Australia with a history of creating great swimmers such as Jennifer Reilly and Lara Carroll, recently became the head coach of Arena Swimming Club and has helped in reinvigorating the powerhouse of the Northern Suburbs.
To go along with the success of Redmond’s squad, under his tutelage Arena has moved from B Division to contending with the greatest clubs in WA.
When speaking with Popham about his relationships with Redmond, he said, “it’s been great to develop such a strong, trusting relationship with Simon”. “Over the past two and a half years, we have been able to create an environment where we work together to achieve goals.”
With an extra year of preparation ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, both Popham and Redmond seem to be a formidable duo with Gold in their Dreams.
