Coming away with six medals at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games seemed to be an unthinkable feat for 18-year-old swimmer Siobhan-Marie O'Connor, but the Brit did just that while representing England in the summer.
The Bitton-born athlete scooped four silvers, one bronze and one gold at the Tollcross pool in Scotland to equal the record for the most number of medals won by a female athlete at the Commonwealths.
As well as her achievements in Glasgow, O'Connor's year in the pool included two gold medals at the British Championships and triumphs at the Tokyo and Singapore World Cup Series.
O'Connor's successful year has earned her a nomination for Young Sportswoman of the Year at the 2014 Sunday Times and Sky Sports Sportswomen of the Year awards, and Sports Mole caught up with the teen to reflect on her triumphs, how she was launched into the media glare and her personal goals on the road to Rio 2016.
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You've been nominated for the Young Sportswoman of the Year award. How would it feel for you to win after the year that you've had?
"It would be the icing on the cake really, it would be pretty incredible. I'm lucky enough to be a Sky Sports scholar and it's been amazing for me over the last year and since I've been on the programme. I'm thrilled to be part of the company and I just think that it would be very cool to get that. There's some amazing athletes that have also been shortlisted, so it's going to be tough.
"I've had a great year and everything's been a good experience so far - the competitions throughout the year I've really enjoyed and had some good results. I'm absolutely gutted because when I got told that I was nominated, I was like 'oh no, I really hope I can go!', but with it being at this time of year I had a funny feeling that it was going to clash. Unfortunately it has, so I'm not around for the awards, which is such a shame because I would really like to have gone. I'll try and catch it on the tele [at a training camp in Thailand]!"
Do you feel like there is enough recognition for women in sport or do you think that more needs to be highlighted by the media etc?
"I think that the idea behind [the awards] is great. I like that Sky and the Sunday Times have combined and are putting on these awards. I think it's going more that way - I think women are getting more recognition, but it's still hard to try to get the same sort of accolade that men get. I think having awards like this definitely makes you feel very proud and it's good to highlight some of the performances that women have done over the year and it's great to honour all the people that have been shortlisted - not just the junior one, but the teams one etc. I've read about all their different performances over the year and it's great to get a feel of more of what women have done this year."
Looking back on your year, did you feel much expectation on your shoulders heading into the season?
"I definitely think that it built a bit more. When I first started swimming, I was enjoying it and it was more of an expectation that I put on myself. This year, [there was] not so much expectation, but I had a lot more media going into the Commonwealth Games that I hadn't really dealt with before. It was quite strange for me, but it was really good because the hype around the Commonwealth Games was amazing. I couldn't believe how much people got behind it. It was almost like getting to do the Olympics all over again. Everyone was just enjoying watching the sport and the support was incredible. From that perspective, I did really enjoy the fact that there was a lot more hype and I didn't see it as a negative.
"Although other people have expectations for you, I think its more about people wanting you to do well and I get that from myself as well. I put a lot of pressure on myself because this is what I train for, this is what I do. I don't think it was a bad thing, I think it was a good thing and I really enjoyed the Commonwealth Games."
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You equalled the record for the most number of medals won by a female athlete at the Commonwealth Games in the summer - where would you rank that meet among your achievements?
"That was definitely the best meet I had this year. That was what everything was targeted towards. We have meets along the way and things to prepare us, but the main competition for swimming is pretty much always in the summer, so this year it was the Commonwealths, last year it was the Worlds and then next year it's the Worlds again. Everything was geared towards [the Commonwealths], it was a great week. Going into it, I honestly never could have imagined coming away with six medals - I was absolutely over the moon.
"I thought if I could come away with a medal in the 200m individual medley and then we had some strong relays and I wanted to be on those teams, so I thought that if I could get one or two medals, I would be happy. So when I got six, I was over the moon - it was a dream week. It all paid off, all the hard work I've done and what we'd planned for, we pulled off and I was really chuffed with that result."
After the high of the Commonwealths, how disappointing was it for you to then withdraw from the European Championships in Berlin because of illness?
"It was very disappointing. My main aim was to do the Commonwealths, but we then had the opportunity to go to Europe and race swimmers in Europe. To do those back-to-back competitions would have been really good. The team did amazingly over there, so I was very disappointed not to have done it, but unfortunately I have a health complaint that is tough, but I have to manage it properly.
"I think pushing myself to do another competition would have been a bad idea. I have to look at the bigger picture and there's a lot more competitions to come, especially now and the next couple of years. I had to get home and get rested and prepare for the new season and not make my condition worse. It was disappointing, but it was nice to watch the team do well and it seemed like it was a great atmosphere over there."
You've also been shortlisted for British Swimming's Athlete of the Year award. Does that feel extra special because you're among your peers?
"Yeah, both of the awards are great. It was tough to get nominated for both of them because [with regards to] Young Sportswoman of the Year, there's loads of [athletes] across the country and there's so any people who have been successful this year. The same with British Swimming - we've had an incredible year.
"I didn't go to the Europeans so there are people there who did really well at both the Commonwealths and the Europeans, so I was chuffed to have been shortlisted. There's definitely some strong contenders, so it's definitely nice to have your performances recognised. I'm unfortunately not able to go to the awards, but I'm sure it would have been nice to go and speak and share the experience with other sporting women and swimmers."
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In terms of your training, what aspects did you work on that you think mainly contributed to your success this year?
"Being part of the Sky Sports scholarship scheme helped me massively - I was able to do everything that I wanted to do last year. I didn't leave any stone unturned. I went on an altitude training camp which helped me massively. I raced a lot last year, which I definitely think helped because racing is the main part of the competition. Training is important, but you've got to learn how to race tough and race some of your main rivals and just learn the race tactics. You can do it in training, but it's not the same when you do it in a race - I definitely think that that was a big part of my performances.
"I also worked on the tactics of how I swim. I normally like to go out pretty hard, I don't have much of a back-end of my race, but working with my coaches and sports science team, we worked out a specific race plan of how hard I should go for the first 100m and then having that back-end really helped me, especially racing some of the strong, fast girls who are in the 200m medley. I improved my gym [work] as well - before, I enjoyed all my pool work, but I had a massive room for improvement with my gym and land stuff. I needed to get stronger."
After the London 2012 Olympics, questions were being asked about the status of British Swimming, but you must feel that it is in a much healthier state now?
"Yes, definitely. It was tough after London - for me, London was a great experience because I was over the moon to have made the team and looking at it from a Bath NTC point of view, as a team we did really well. We got a silver medal with Michael Jamieson, so as a group we were over the moon, it was a great result for us and I was happy with how I swam. It was quite tough after the Olympics with all the negativity, but sport is all about performance and if you don't reach your goals, you have to look at why you didn't reach your goals and change things.
"I totally agree with everything that's been done, there was definite need for change and I think that that change has only helped us improve. At the time it was quite tough and all the things that happened afterwards were quite tough, but I think that British Swimming is in a better place now and you can see that with the results in the pool. The summer was incredible - we did really well combined (England, Scotland and Wales) at the Commonwealths. If you combine our results, we did better than ever, and then we went on to compete at the Europeans, which is always hard doing. In both meets there were some great results and I definitely think that the vibe around the team is something that I've never seen before - it's very good."
There's a lot of young talent coming through, including yourself and the likes of Adam Peaty, Ross Murdoch and so on - it must be exciting being part of that and seeing that happen?
"Yeah, it is really exciting. It's very strange because Adam and Ross are two of the most talented swimmers I've ever seen and they've come on leaps and bounds - it's crazy to think that they weren't even at London 2012 and now they're ranked one in the world a year-and-a-half out [of the Olympics]. It's great to see, it's definitely been such a good year for British Swimming. We're very, very happy with how things are going and I just hope that it goes on for the next couple of years."
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Do you think that the performances this year, especially at the Commonwealth Games from the home nations, have encouraged more participation in swimming?
"Hopefully, yes. The Olympics was incredible. So many people got behind sport in general and swimming was one of the most viewed sports. Also, having the Commonwealths on in the evenings - it was great because there was so many people watching it. I'm hoping that it has inspired people to get in and swim - it's a very good sport, but it's also a life skill. I think something like 40% of children leave school not knowing how to swim and that scares me in a way because I think swimming is so important. You've got to be confident in the water so hopefully [this summer] would have encouraged participation."
Due to the success you've already had at such a young age, do you feel much pressure to continue that run moving forward?
"I want to keep it moving forward for myself. All the support I've had has meant the world to me - it's been really cool. This year has been a bit of a whirlwind and I've loved every minute of it, but it's tough - day-to-day training is tough, but nothing's really changed, I still have determination. I want to drop my time and just push myself as far as I can go - that hasn't changed and I want the same as I always had. I'm doing it because I love it and it's more enjoyable when you do get the rewards as well."
If we look ahead to Rio 2016, the United States, Australia and China are known for their domination, but considering the improvements in British Swimming - I know there's still two years to go - but do you expect Great Britain to be competing strongly against them?
"Hopefully yeah, that's definitely the aim for everyone. America dominate and China are a very strong nation as well, but we don't have the sort of gene pool as them - they've got a massive country, but we've got some incredibly talented swimmers here. The strength of British Swimming looks very good for that and I just hope that we can carry it on. There's definitely been changes that have helped and everyone's very focused and determined to make that the case in two years' time."
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Considering the disappointment of London 2012, do you think it's vital that Great Britain have a more successful Games in Rio?
"I don't know what the circumstances are, I don't know what will happen if we don't, but I think that no-one wants to go there and swim bad - everyone wants to go there and swim their best and I think that's what everyone's going to try to do. I'd love to have a great Olympics, it would be brilliant for the sport. We all train so hard - swimming is a very tough sport and I'd love to get more recognition for that and for everyone in general, so having a great Olympics would be very good. We just have to look at what we're doing. I can't control what the whole of British Swimming are doing, I can only look at what I'm doing day in and day out. I have to focus on my own journey, my own training and preparations."
In terms of your personal goals, what are you aiming for next?
"My next competition is the FINA World Swimming Championships in Doha - that's in December and that's the last competition of this year. In January, we'll move onto the long course season and then in April we have our trials for the World Championships in the summer. The Worlds in Russia is the last big competition before the Olympics and that's long course. Those two are my next big competitions, but there are lots of other small meets and international meets to prepare us along the way."
Siobhan-Marie O'Connor is shortlisted for the Young Sportswoman of the Year at the 2014 Sunday Times and Sky Sports Young Sportswomen of the Year Awards, celebrating women in sport at all levels. Watch on Sky Sports 1HD from 8pm on November 19.
