Benji Gillingham '22 Recruiting Profile
Video
Personal Statement
I have been swimming all my life. My dad taught me to swim and I could swim on my own without any support at 3 years of age. I swam in my father’s swim academy until I was 9 years old and joined a competitive swim club on my 9th birthday as I simply love the water. I want to go to the Olympic Games with medal success. My father won two Olympic medals and held the world record for 200m breaststroke.
I regularly watch on-line videos of US Swimming including the NCAA Championships and my goal is to be a strong Division 1 swimmer for an exciting US College from August 2022 whilst continuing to study where I aim and believe I can contribute to the team. I already have high quality technical skills as well as strong psychological skills to ensure non-self limiting factors at this stage of my career and as I continue to develop this will be a strength.
My favourite subjects are mathematics, physics/chemistry and geography and I wish to Major in ‘Geo-Science’. I am strong academically. I was a full time boarder at the prestigious school, Mount Kelly which is based in the UK. I enjoy the on-campus school lifestyle which was 445 miles south from my family home in Northumberland. I now study at Newcastle 6th Form College at an advanced level in the UK for the subjects of A' Level Mathematics, Chemistry and Geography.
My previous Deputy Headmaster, Mr Adam Reid, of Mount Kelly School refers to me as a fine young man. I work really hard in the pool and in the classroom. I am very competitive and have high standards for myself in sport and in life and believe that the selected US College will allow me to reach my full potential and succeed in the pool and in life.
(Update: Based on my nine GCSE Exam results, July 2019, it’s likely my cumulative GPA was 3.4 as Grades 7,6,5 were achieved across subjects).
Athletics
Club Information
- Seasons of Club Experience
- 1 season
- 2019 Alnwick Dolphins ASC (National)
- On 31st July 2018 during the long course English Nationals Final of the 100m Freestyle, Benji Gillingham broke the 100m Freestyle Mount Kelly Swimming Record for the 15 year age group with an official time of 54.58 seconds. He also recorded an official FC Relay lead off time of 54.14 seconds. On 14th February 2019, Benji also lowered his personal best to 53.48 seconds and again to 53.38 in August and 52.83 in January 2020 and looks forward to swimming even faster. http://www.mountkelly.com/History-and-Records
Coach References
- Club Coach
- Nick Gillingham MBE, OLY, FIOS
Events
- Camp/Event
- Burns Meet
- 1/25/20 to 1/26/20
- Long Course Competition Results... 50m FC 24.07'sec : 100m FC 52.83'sec : 200m FC 1:59.69 : 50m FLY 26.38'sec : 100m FLY 1:00.00. All event results were 'Personal Best Times' PB's. I have now qualified for the Great Britain Olympic Trials.
Training
- Swim Squad: Red 1, Pool Sessions: 6>8, Gym Sessions: 3, Training Hours (water): 11>14hrs, Training Hours (land): 3hrs
- 8 years
- I have had 'progressive training' over the last eight years which has been achieved in line with ‘long term athlete development’. This will ensure I am a fully rounded athletic swimmer competing at a 'world level'. I already have high quality technical skills as well as strong psychological skills to ensure non-self limiting factors at this stage of my career.
Statistics
| Event | 2019 Alnwick Dolphi |
|---|---|
| 100M Free | 53.38 |
Academics
Grades
Test Scores
High School Information
Academic Accomplishments
Are you in AP/IB classes?
NoRegistered with the NCAA Eligibility Center?
NoAwards and Activities
- AwardsI am in the UK which doesn’t have cumulative or weighted GPA/Class Rank but I was in Set1 & Set2 for related GCSE subjects (top two sets). I qualified for Triple Science for more academic students. GCSE Grades are 1>9, Grade 9 being higher than A*. During April 2019 GCSE Mock Exams, although I gained Grade 7 overall in Geography, I achieved Grade 8 in my 2nd paper, previously an A*. I believe the US High School Diploma is the qualification generally required for University. GCSE is considered to be at the level of the High School Diploma. I achieved strong grades across all nine GCSE Exam subjects passing off with strength in achieving Grades 7,6,5 across subjects in Year 11 aged 16yrs. Grade 4 is the standard for a Pass formerly equivalent to Grade C. All my nine grades were higher than this. Based on my GCSE Exam results, July 2019, it’s likely my cumulative GPA is a strong 3.4. I now study at an Advanced Level. My subjects are A’ Level Chemistry, Geography and Mathematics.
