“I have been okay, to be honest,” she said. “While I was in Turkey, I was away from my family and my loved ones, and I was trying to see the positive side of things being back at home with my loved ones. It was hard not having a pool to swim in, but I was working pretty hard. I’ve had great communication with James and our strength coach, Marco, so I was trying to work out at least one or two sessions to keep fit every day.”
“Being away from the pool for 12 weeks was the longest I have been away from the pool since I’ve started swimming,” she said. “That was definitely a challenge.”
She had nothing but the kindest remarks about working with James Gibson, MBE as her coach and General Manager of Energy Standard. “I love working with James. I’ve worked with him for a long time. I think I am the athlete that he has coached the longest. I joined his swimming club back in 2013, so it has been over seven years,” she said. “James is a big reason I joined Energy Standard as well. I absolutely love working with him.”
“The fact that he was an international swimmer himself is great because James understands our mindsets. He is a great coach, he writes great sessions but also he knows the emotions and everything that we are feeling, so that gives him an extra edge,” she said.
On winning the ISL last year with the Energy Standard, she said, “That was so much fun because I hadn’t done a competition that is more team-focused before. It was all about racing and gaining points for the team.”
“I think this year with the second season of the ISL, the teams will be stronger as well,” she said.
Davies listed the backstroke as her “best and personal favorite stroke” in swimming. “I like it because I can breathe all the time,” she said.
For young and aspiring swimmers, she encouraged them to “have fun” with the sport. “That is the key thing for me, especially from a young age. When you are in training, give it 100 percent. To this day, I still enjoy the practices and I have made so many great friends. I always remind myself that I still do swimming because I love it,” she said.
On being a swimmer in the digital age, Davies said, “I have been quite lucky. Things are so much more scientific these days. It is cool because technology can give you scientific analysis and it can spotlight your weaknesses and it can help you improve your technique.”
She shared that she uses NormaTec and the vibrating foam rollers for recovery purposes. “Having all of these things helps so much,” she said.
Regarding the title of the current chapter of her life, she said with a sweet laugh, “Chapter 29.”
Davies defined the word success as achieving her goals. “I can have some big goals, but also, daily and weekly goals. I just try and reach those goals and work on small elements of my race,” she said.
She expressed her gratitude to her family, close friends and coaches that have been with her from the very start. “You can’t achieve anything without those people: your parents taking you to practice early in the morning and taking you to meets and supporting you through the difficult times when your goals don’t come to fruition,” she said.
For more information on world class swimmer Georgia Davies, follow her on Instagram and on Twitter.
To learn more about the Energy Standard swimming team, check out their official website.
