West Dunbartonshire Swimming Club’s Jackie Smith, like many others across Dumbarton and the Vale was glued to her TV screen on Thursday night as Ross produced his quite outstanding display and she was delighted to see him rewarded for his hard work.
Speaking today (Thursday) Jackie said:”Many of the kids at the swim club have known Ross as their swim teacher, he taught a lot of them to swim and then some of the slightly older members swam up through the club with him so the pride everyone feels in watching him achieve what he did is just immense.
“He came back to the club last October and did a master class in the breaststroke for the middle section of the club - the kids just loved it and the motivation after that was immense.
“He is a truly inspirational character, he really is.” And while viewers across the country were expecting Michael Jamieson to take the gold medal, Jackie says she knew that Ross had a chance of producing something special.
Jackie, who was crowed Volunteer of the Year at the West Dunbartonshire Sports Awards, added: : “Ross has always managed to pull something out of the bag and watching his races over the last couple of years he just always managed to pull something out.
“After the heat I knew he would be determined and it was a stunning race to watch.
“For his parents to be there and his grandparents as well, it was just amazing.
“I can only imagine what the younger swimmers in the club were feeling like – certainly in our household there was screaming at the telly and huge amount of pride.”
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