Darren Mew

Darren Mew

Darren Mew swimming
Personal information
Born	12 December 1979 (1979-12-12) (age 31) Newport, Isle of Wight, England
Height	1.95 metres (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	85 kilograms (190 lb)
Sport
Country	England
Club	Ellesmere College Titans
Medal record Men's swimming Competitor for  Great Britain World Championships - Short Course Bronze 1999 Hong Kong 4×100 m medley Bronze 2000 Athens 4×100 m medley European Championships - Short Course Bronze 1998 Sheffield 4×50 m medley Bronze 1999 Lisbon 4×50 m medley Bronze 2000 Valencia 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2001 Antwerp 50 m breaststroke Bronze 2003 Dublin 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2006 Helsinki 50 m breaststroke Competitor for  England Commonwealth Games Silver 1998 Kuala Lumpur 4×100 m medley Silver 2006 Melbourne 50 m breaststroke Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2002 Manchester 50 m breaststroke Competitor for Isle of Wight Island Games Gold 2011 Isle of Wight 50 m breaststroke Gold 2011 Isle of Wight 100 m breaststroke Bronze 2011 Isle of Wight 4×100 m medley

Darren Mew (born 12 December 1979 in Newport, Isle of Wight) is a British swimmer specialising in breaststroke. He is a member of Ellesmere College Titans and studied sport as a student at the University of Bath. He has competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for Great Britain, starting in 2000.

Swimming career

Mew started swimming at West West Swimming Club on the Isle of Wight under the guidance of Trevor Collins (2005 winner of the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award) and stayed until he moved to the High Performance Center then located at the University of Bath at 17. Before he moved Mew competed in three successive junior European Championship finals in Geneva (Switzerland) 1995, Copenhagen (Denmark) 1996 and Glasgow (United Kingdom)1997 winning three medals in total. During this time he also broke the 50, 100 and 200 metres Breaststroke Long course and 50 and 100 metres Breaststroke short course Junior British Records.

Within six months of his last Junior European Championships he made his senior debut at the World Swimming Championships in Perth Australia in January 1998. Later that year he won he won two medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur including a bronze in the 100m breaststroke.

Mew has swam in two Olympic Games finals, the 4x100m medley relay in Sydney Olympic Games 2000 and the 100m Breaststroke in Athens Olympic Games 2004. Unfortunately Darren ripped the sheafing that keeps the ulnar nerve in place in his left elbow three months before the Athens Olympic Games leaving him with limited strength in his left arm, this was operated on shortly after he competed at the Games.

He has also won two medals at the [FINA World Aquatics Championships|[World Swimming Championships]], four medals at Commonwealth Games six medals at the European Swimming Championships and one medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade.

He has also broken multiple English, British and Commonwealth records and in April 2004 set the fourth fastest 100 metre breaststroke time in world history. From 1997 over the next ten years he had a world ranking inside the top ten in the world in either short course or long course breaststroke swimming.

Charity work

In 2000 with a bonus from a sponsor Darren set up the "Darren Mew Trust Fund" to help support sports clubs and teams on the Isle of Wight. The Fund helped support clubs and teams by helping with travel expenses and buying new equipment.

In 2009 Darren was part of the "Champions" project by photographers Anderson & Low to help raise funds for Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF). The project which included famous sports people such as Thierry Henry, Matt Dawson, Mark Foster, Billie Jean King and Venus Williams were pictured in the nude. These pictures were made into a book "Champions" and were also displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Personal bests and records held

Event	Long course	Short course
50m Breaststroke	27.44 (2009) NR	26.72 (2003) NR
100m Breaststroke	60.02 (2004)	58.68 (2003)
200m Breaststroke	2.17.26 (2002)	2.10.83 (2003)
Record Key NR:National Record List of British records in swimming

External links

• Personal website
• British Swimming athlete profile
• The Race Club

Persondata
Name	Mew, Darren
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	12 December 1979
Place of birth	Newport, Isle of Wight, England
Date of death
Place of death