GCU student defers final year of university to focus on training for Paralympic Games

A GCU student and professional swimmer is set to make a splash at the upcoming Paralympic trials - after deferring his final year at university to focus on his training.

4th year Finance, Investment and Risk student Andrew Mullen is aiming for gold at his third Paralympic Games, which is set to take place in August later this year. To focus on his training, Andrew has decided to delay his fourth year but will return to complete his final semesters once he has finished competing.

Andrew’s love for swimming stemmed from a young age. He said: “My interest in swimming naturally progressed as I worked my way through swimming lessons as a kid. Once I was exposed to the competitive side of swimming, this interest sky rocketed.

I’ve always been a competitive person, so I was really drawn towards swimming in that respect.”

He added: “I realised I wanted to pursue swimming seriously once I started to have some success as a teenager. That was when I had an aptitude for the sport and could potentially build a career from it, if I really applied myself.”

Andrew has found that balancing training with his studies can be challenging. He said: “Striking the balance between sport and study is always a tough one. Both require a large investment of time and energy so excelling in both, at the same time is difficult.

GCU however, have been fantastic in allowing me to slowly but surely work my way through my degree. I’ve deferred my last year of study in order to fully focus on swimming, once this season has finished, I’ll be back to finish off my last couple of semesters.”

He added: “The pandemic has been a tough time for everyone, both athletes and those not involved with sport. I’ve been really fortunate to have access to training for the large majority of the lockdowns which I’m very thankful for.

Hopefully all this training will put me in a good position as I approach the Paralympic trials in April.”

Keep up-to-date with Andrew’s progress on the Scottish Swimming website.

By Rachael McAlonan

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