Making a Splash: Fynn Adams

By Archie Hurst

Although swimming may not be one of Hampton’s ‘headline’ sports, one does not have to go far below the ‘surface’ to find a fair few Hamptonians who excel at it. I got the opportunity to speak to one of Hampton’s top young swimmers, Fynn Adams, about his experiences with the sport, and the challenges he faces in balancing his athletic, academic, and personal life.

Fynn is currently in Fifth Year and swims at Teddington Swimming Club. I asked him to tell me a little bit about his day-to-day activities as a young athlete. Normal Mondays, for him, begin by waking up at the crack of dawn to be in the pool for 6am. “If I have any homework left over from the weekend, I’ll
do it in the morning in the library, and at lunchtimes I often do homework, as I know I won’t be able to do it in the evening.” He then goes on to train from 7pm
for over two hours in the same evening. He repeats this gruelling regime Monday to Saturday, with the exception of mornings off on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Staggeringly, this amounts to nearly 19 hours of training, both in and out of the pool. Having to train both in the morning and evening often means Fynn does not have masses of spare time to himself, or for his studies, and says he often
finds himself in the library doing homework both in the morning and at lunchtimes in order to clear his busy schedule. When he isn’t competing, Sundays are dedicated to homework and revision.

Competing at a young age in national competitions means Fynn finds himself travelling to places such as the Ponds Forge Centre in Sheffield, the London
Aquatics Centre in Stratford, and as far away as Swansea to compete. Although it may sound overwhelming and bleak, it is not all in vain. Fynn finished fifth in his age group at the 200m backstroke at the British Swimming Championships
in 2024, and he won two Silver medals at the English Swimming Championships the same year. “The hype is amazing.” Fynn says that despite
everything, all the early mornings, the long, hard training sessions, it’s all worth it for the end goal. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Of course, I had to ask where he saw himself in the future. “Do we have a future Olympian on our hands?” I asked, jokingly. “The Olympics are my goal.” He says
back to me with a straight face. “I’d love to make a career out of it, but I know that schoolwork is my priority in case it doesn’t work out.”

Although young, he is already weighing up the possibility of a scholarship to an American university; however, he asserts that this currently sits at the
bottom of his list of priorities, and he is unlikely to want to be so far away from home and his family. Fynn is looking ahead to the next chapter of his
academic and athletic journey, with a strong interest in joining a British sporting college or Sixth Form that offers a high-performance swimming programme.

Inspired by the achievements of top British swimmers, he is motivated by a desire to follow in their footsteps and reach the highest levels of the sport. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m ready for it!”

Swimming is a discipline that often goes under the radar in school sport, yet it demands extraordinary commitment, resilience and countless hours of
training. Fynn exemplifies these qualities, balancing his academic studies with a rigorous training schedule, and consistently demonstrating the determination required to compete at the highest level. With his talent, drive and clear vision for the future, Fynn Adams is undoubtedly a name to watch. Could we see him on the blocks at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics? Only time will tell – but the journey is already well underway.