Retirement Living
SwanCare Bentley Park resident, Helen Urquhart-Holdcroft, has loved being in the water for as long as she can remember. It started with her school swimming lessons at South Beach in Fremantle and has continued throughout her life.
She recently competed in the Australian Masters Games and won three silver medals, swimming in a total of six events over three days.
“Swimming for fitness never really entered my mind,” Helen said. “I do it because I enjoy it. I love being in the water and I like the social element of it too. I’ve met lots of great people through the Somerset Swimming Club in East Victoria Park.”
Helen has lived at SwanCare for the past 12 years, and said she likes the fact that she can be social in the community or enjoy her own time.
“There’s plenty to do here if you want to, but I get out and about a fair bit because I can still drive,” she said. “I swim three times a week at the club, and I’ve been competitively swimming for 20 years now, so it’s a big part of my life.”
Helen first started swimming competitively when she was a hairdresser. She saw a brochure at work, rang the number, and the rest is history.
“I remember when I got my bronze medal for lifesaving and I always liked swimming, so I thought I’d give it a go and haven’t looked back,” she said. “Staying active as you get older is so important, it helps keep you mobile and stops you from getting stiff. I’ve always had a bad back, so I could never run, but swimming is my sport and I love it. Age is really no barrier to swimming, anyone can swim.”
Helen has competed in swimming competitions in Sydney, New Zealand, and Italy and recently did a virtual swim to Rottnest.
“You all get in a pool at the same time and you swim the same amount of lengths it would take you to get to Rottnest. It was really good fun and I’ll probably do it again next year,” Helen said. “It’s much safer in the pool, there’s no sharks!”
Helen has spent so much time in the pool that when asked about her best times she couldn’t remember exact seconds.
“I can’t actually remember my best personal best time in the pool, it was too long ago, but I know I recently got 5m 35s for the 100m breaststroke… so that’s not bad,” Helen said.
When she’s not swimming Helen has two sons and two granddaughters that fill up her time, and a brother that also lives at SwanCare.
“You never know what next year will bring, but I’ll keep swimming as long as I can,” said Helen.
Thanks for chatting with us, Helen! Keep up the great work in the pool.
“Swimming for fitness never really entered my mind,” Helen said. “I do it because I enjoy it. I love being in the water and I like the social element of it too. I’ve met lots of great people through the Somerset Swimming Club in East Victoria Park.”
Helen has lived at SwanCare for the past 12 years, and said she likes the fact that she can be social in the community or enjoy her own time.
“There’s plenty to do here if you want to, but I get out and about a fair bit because I can still drive,” she said. “I swim three times a week at the club, and I’ve been competitively swimming for 20 years now, so it’s a big part of my life.”
Helen first started swimming competitively when she was a hairdresser. She saw a brochure at work, rang the number, and the rest is history.
“I remember when I got my bronze medal for lifesaving and I always liked swimming, so I thought I’d give it a go and haven’t looked back,” she said. “Staying active as you get older is so important, it helps keep you mobile and stops you from getting stiff. I’ve always had a bad back, so I could never run, but swimming is my sport and I love it. Age is really no barrier to swimming, anyone can swim.”
Helen has competed in swimming competitions in Sydney, New Zealand, and Italy and recently did a virtual swim to Rottnest.
“You all get in a pool at the same time and you swim the same amount of lengths it would take you to get to Rottnest. It was really good fun and I’ll probably do it again next year,” Helen said. “It’s much safer in the pool, there’s no sharks!”
Helen has spent so much time in the pool that when asked about her best times she couldn’t remember exact seconds.
“I can’t actually remember my best personal best time in the pool, it was too long ago, but I know I recently got 5m 35s for the 100m breaststroke… so that’s not bad,” Helen said.
When she’s not swimming Helen has two sons and two granddaughters that fill up her time, and a brother that also lives at SwanCare.
“You never know what next year will bring, but I’ll keep swimming as long as I can,” said Helen.
Thanks for chatting with us, Helen! Keep up the great work in the pool.
