Lincoln swimmer gets new ride for Olympics

Twenty-one year-old Lincoln Olympic swimmer Lizzie Simmonds took off to her training on Wednesday in a brand new ride.

She qualified for the London 2012 games two weeks ago for her preferred category of the 200m backstroke.

The Mini Cooper was offered to the Team GB athlete by the Soper of Lincoln dealership off Newark Road to help Lizzie commute to her training ground in Loughborough, her family in the city, and of course, to London.

“It’s great to know people in Lincoln are rooting for me and supporting me, and it’s also nice to have a cool car to park outside the pool,” Lizzie said.

“I’ll be driving it to and from training, but sometimes I’ll have to bike in too for some extra endurance work.”

Lizzie Simmonds received the keys for the new car from Steve Soper

Steve Soper, a retired professional racing driver and owner of the dealership in Lincoln, said he went the extra mile to personalise the car for Lizzie.

“This car can go in and out of London with no congestion charges, and we thought it would be nice for her to drive around in a Mini, representing Lincoln.

“We put the Union Jack on the roof of the car and we incorporated in it Soper of Lincoln and Supporting Lizzie Simmonds,” he explained.