Winslow teenager given first international call-up to represent Britain in Para swimming
A teenager from Winslow has earned her first international call-up after being selected to represent Britain at Para swimming.
Tara Beard, 16, a member of Maxwell Swimming Club in Aylesbury, has been selected in the S14 classification, for swimmers with an intellectual disability.
Tara, a pupil at Sir Thomas Fremantle School in Winslow, will compete for Team GB at the European Para Swimming Championships, which are being held at Kocaeli in Turkey in September.
To prepare for those championships, Tara will make her international debut at the Dutch National Championships in Eindhoven in July.
"I am really excited and proud to have been selected to represent Great Britain,” Tara said.
“It's something I've worked very hard for, and I'm looking forward to competing against some of the best swimmers in Europe."
Tara, who is adopted, was born in Thailand, and started swimming at the age of six.
Her mum Paula said: “Tara was quite competitive at a young age as an able-bodied swimmer.
“She swam at national level in England when she was 12, at the annual age-group championships.
“When Tara became a Para swimmer in October 2025, she quickly became competitive in that world.”
Tara, who has autism, has a low IQ and struggles academically, and these factors led to her family choosing to follow a process to see if she was eligible to compete at Para swimming.
Following the process, Tara was placed in the S14 classification for athletes with intellectual impairments.
World Para Swimming says that athletes in this category typically have difficulties with regards to pattern recognition, sequencing and memory or have a slower reaction time.
Tara, who is currently studying for a GCSE in biology, trains before and after school, and typically does seven to eight pool sessions and two gym sessions per week.
Paula added: “After Tara was classified as an S14 swimmer, at her first big competition, the English winter national championships, she won three medals.
“This was when she was noticed, and she went to Berlin in May for international classification, which means that she is eligible to be selected by Aquatics GB at any overseas competition.
“Britain is always very successful in Para swimming so competition is tough, but Tara is at a very high level for her age, so it is possible that one day she could feature at a
World Championships or Paralympic Games.”