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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Tammy Meredith

Experience: I was a lifeguard at the Olympics

A woman with brown hair tied back, wearing light trousers and a navy T-shirt, standing on the far side of a swimming pool, with a lifeguard’s seat and safety equipment on the side of the pool
Tammy Meredith at the pool where she works near Telford in Shropshire. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

I was so excited about the London Olympics. I just wanted to be a part of it – I didn’t care if I was outside the venues dancing. A year before the Games, I thought, they’re going to need lifeguards, and Googled “London 2012 volunteers”.

At the time, I was a lifeguard at the Telford and Wrekin leisure centre in Shropshire. I’d worked for a few years in reception and the soft-play area when my manager suggested I train as a lifeguard. I took the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification and passed.

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