Eloise Cole
In August 2023, Eloise Cole, a promising young swimmer from Bedford, received a grant to travel to Rio De Janeiro to compete for the English Schools Swimming Team at the ISF U15 World Schools Games. This grant was provided before the establishment of The Bedford Future Fund and served as the inspiration for its launch.
Medals galore.
At the competition, Eloise made the finals in both the 50m and 100m Butterfly events, securing Silver in an extremely close 50m final, just 0.09 seconds behind Gold. She also won Gold as part of the 4x100m Mixed Medley relay team and Silver in the 4x100m Female Freestyle relay team.
Eloise said:
“I am so grateful for the extremely kind donation provided. I had an amazing time in Rio, and it was great to meet and compete against so many athletes from different countries. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, and my next aim is to represent Aquatics GB at a major championship.”
In 2023, Eloise won gold medals at County, Regional, English, and British levels, finishing the year ranked No.1 in the UK for her age in the 50m Butterfly. She has progressed further in 2024, achieving additional county and regional successes, and recently competed at the British Olympic trials in London. Her dream is to make the GB Aquatics Olympic team for Los Angeles in 2028.
Perfect grant recipient.
Eloise received a grant of £1,000 to cover the costs of attending the games, and it was wonderful to see her return with so many medals.
Although this grant was awarded before the establishment of our fund, it served as the inspiration for its creation. We recognise that there are many other talented young people in Bedford have the potential to excel. Eloise embodies the kind of individual we aim to support with the Bedford Future Fund.