A hospital consultant who works at Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is taking part in a world swimming championships in Qatar and hopes to return with a medal.
Dr Beatrix Langara, consultant in acute medicine, will be competing in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Doha.
Beatrix started swimming at the age of nine in her home country, Hungary. She competed in – and won – numerous school and county galas up until the age of 15, when she quit the sport to begin preparing for university.
Still a keen swimmer at heart, she returned to the pool aged 34, joining the Borough of Kirklees (BOK) Swimming Club where she won several medals in local and national galas. She represented Britain and was British Champion in 2022 in the 50m breaststroke.
Beatrix took part in the World Championships last year in Japan where she took fifth place in the 50m breaststroke.
“Swimming is a huge part of my life,” she said. “Training is my ‘me time.’ I am completely switched off, no phones, no computers, just focusing on my breathing and executing the practice as much as possible.”
Beatrix manages to fit in at least three swimming sessions a week, alongside running, yoga, her full-time role at the Trust and being a wife and mum.
When asked where she gets all her energy from, Beatrix said: “I try my best to eat lots of protein and to limit my carbohydrate intake but I do love sugar!”
Apart from the competition in Doha, Beatrix is looking forward to a bit of sunbathing and some camel rides.
She added: “I need to be in the right head space physically and mentally to get the most out of my swims and to try to achieve some great personal bests – and hopefully beat a few fellow swimmers and grab a medal with the teams.”
When asked how swimming makes her feel, she said: “We are all swimmers in the pool – it doesn’t matter if you are a pensioner, an ophthalmologist, a banker, a teacher, a university lecturer or an acute medic. We are all just swimmers there. We respect and encourage each other.”
