Isle of Wight swimmer Zac Lacey has retained his 200m Butterfly title at the European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Albufeira, Portugal.
Zac has waited 16 months since the last World Championships for an international competition competing for Team GB and has not wasted the time idly, returning with an 8-medal haul and at the same time he was elected as Great Britain Team Captain until 2027.
He started the week with Gold, gaining 1st place in the 50m Backstroke event with a new Personal Best time, after another Personal Best time in the morning for 4th place in the 400m Freestyle event.
Day 2 saw Silver in the 50m Butterfly event and this was followed up by a 4th place in the 200m Individual Medley on Day 3, in another Personal Best time.
Day 4 saw a very competitive race in the 100m Butterfly event where Zac once again picked up a Silver Medal in a new age group European record.
The icing on the cake came in the 200M Butterfly event on Day 5 where he set a new age group European record and retained his European title, where 2 fellow teammates took Silver and Bronze to make a clean sweep of the podium for Team GB.
Zac gained medals in the relays with Silvers in the 4 x 50m Mixed Medley, 4 x 50m Men’s Medley, 4 x 100m Men’s Medley and a fantastic Gold in the 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay for Team GB.
On the final evening, it was also announced that Zac had been elected by the selection committee of Down Syndrome Swimming Great Britain to be the Team Captain for the next round of World and European Championships, which will last till 2027.
Zac said:
“This last week has been amazing and although it was a very tiring week, this has been my best International Meet ever. To be Team Captain of my country has been a wish of mine for many years and so is very emotional”.
Zac would like to thank Wightlink and all those on the talented athlete programme, as well as the coaches and fellow swimmers at Seaclose Swimming Club, Isle Achieve for Strength and Conditioning and Dan Noyes, Physio/PT, who literally keeps him in working order.
