Olympian returns to Shropshire roots to inspire others

Hector Pardoe, 23, returned to his old school Ellesmere College and presented a signed GB shirt to inspire others.

The athlete also took part in a Q&A session and spoke positively about his time at Ellesmere saying: “My success in swimming started at Ellesmere.”

Guy Worrow, Director of Ellesmere College Swimming Academy, said: “We were delighted to see Hector again and were so grateful that he managed to find time in his busy schedule to inspire the future generation of swimmers, who follow his career avidly.

“During his visit, Hector met with our Director of Sport Chris Horrock and myself, presented the college with one of his Team GB Olympic shirts, which he signed, and took part in a Q&A session which proved to be very informative.

“He talked about his time at Ellesmere, his career to date, going to the Olympics and World Championships and his world record. He also spoke of his current situation at Loughborough - having gone back into education for the second year of his degree, and told us about his swimming training programme at the university.

“Hector spoke enthusiastically about the years he spent at Ellesmere College, saying it was a key part of his swimming journey, and we were very pleased to hear that. It is inspiring for our swimming academy students.”

Pardoe trained at Ellesmere College from the age of 11 to 18 before moving to live and train in Montpellier, France.

He moved back to the UK in 2022 to Loughborough University to train and study business, economics and finance.

In the water, Pardoe specialises in distance and open water events.

He competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but was forced to withdraw after suffering an eye injury during a race.

He managed to put that disappointment behind him at the Paris Olympics last year when he finished sixth in the men’s 10k marathon.

Among other impressive achievements, Pardoe broke the world record for the fastest swim of Lake Windermere in September 2023.

His 10.5 mile swim was completed in a time of three hours, 40 minutes and 28 seconds - beating the previous record from 1997 by eight minutes. 

Pardoe also won bronze at the 2024 world championships in Doha, becoming the first British man to win a global open water medal since 2008.

He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Junior Championships, and in 2018 he became the youngest British open water swimmer to represent GB at the European Championships.

He said: “I look back at my time at Ellesmere as one of the best periods of my life so far. It was great to return, meet the new academy staff and Director of Sport, and reflect on the role Ellesmere played in my swimming development.

“I have amazing memories of my time at Ellesmere College. To excel in anything and master a skill, you must dedicate thousands of hours to it.

“For me, that meant committing a huge amount of time to swimming while also keeping up with my academics — a challenge that wasn’t always easy.

“Ellesmere provided the structure and support that made it possible to balance both. Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I had there and the strong foundation it gave me in both sport and education.”