Tom Beeley readily admits his journey to the Commonwealth Games has not been the most conventional one.
The Banchory swimmer was a late call-up to the Team Scotland squad, with his selection for Birmingham 2022 only being confirmed earlier this month.
But his background is somewhat nomadic, with Houston, Stavanger, Banchory and Plymouth all playing a part in getting him to where he is today.
Living around the world
Beeley’s father Hugh is a geologist in the oil and gas industry and his work has taken him around the world, allowing the 23-year-old to take in some unique places.
He was born in Houston and grew up in Norway, where he developed an interest in swimming as a means to keep safe when out sailing with his parents.
Banchory became home at the age of nine, and Beeley was able to hone his craft with Aberdeen Amateur Swimming Club, before he moved to Plymouth to study and became a regular at the Leander club in the far south of England.
“My mum took it a little personally when I moved to Plymouth,” he joked. “But it was purely for the course and for the swimming.
“It’s a bit of a different background and a different way to grow up. But I feel like it’s helped me in my career.
“I loved living in Norway. You’d sail throughout the summer, have a couple of weeks out of the boat to do some work on it, then ski throughout the winter.
“It’s living the good life, isn’t it? You can’t really complain.
Name: Tom Beeley
D.O.B: 2/6/99
Home town: Banchory
Previous CG experience: none
Event(s): 100m butterfly, 200m butterfly
“My family has always been big into sailing, so the intention was to make sure I was able to swim in some way in case I fell into the water.
“I never liked it – there were a few tears and my parents had to force me into the water. But we moved to Banchory from Norway and, after joining Aberdeen ASC, I got dragged into the competitive side.
“I’ve always been competitive; my sister doesn’t like it sometimes when we’re playing board games. I much prefer racing to training, but I know I have to train to race competitively.”
After the competitions finish this summer, Beeley plans to head to Orkney and sail to Stavanger with his father and a friend, where he can revisit some places he has not seen since his childhood.
Beeley has had a chance for a brief homecoming before the Games. He was part of the Team Scotland squad which competed at Aberdeen Sports Village earlier this month in the national open championships, with Beeley taking silver and bronze in the 200m and 100m butterfly respectively.
ASV also played host to a pre-Games training camp for the aquatics team last week, prior to them decamping for Birmingham on Sunday.
“I’ve been at uni in Plymouth for a while, so it’s always nice to come back up. It’s a bit weird because the pool that used to be here before ASV was the one I first started training in.
“It’s always a strange thought when you compare the two because they are very different.
“I was a late entry to the team, so doing something like that (holding camp) really helps to merge it all together. This was my first one but I enjoyed it.
“I found out two days before Scottish Nationals that I was going, so I had a little bit of a boost then. In terms of how I swum, I was deep in a training cycle and the times I’d put out were good all things considered.”
It has been a longer journey than most for Beeley to get to this stage.
“I’ll go there and try and swim as fast I can. There’s no point thinking how other people are going to swim as I can’t control that.
“I’ve been swimming well, especially last week. The times I’ve been doing, I’ve been really happy with, so I’m excited to see what I can do.
“I’ve been making my way up the Scottish Swimming ranks from the junior level and to finally compete at a senior international Games for Scotland will be a very proud moment.
“I did it at the Commonwealth Youth Games and that was very special, so this will be even more so. To do it on the big stage, I’m very excited.”
