Team GB athletes have paid tribute to the former Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer
Tributes are continuing to flood in for headteacher and former Olympic swimmer Helen Smart, as her grieving parents ask how she 'could just simply go to sleep and not wake up'.
British Swimming detailed Mrs Smart's record in the pool and said its 'thoughts and condolences are with Helen's family and friends, as well as those in the swimming community who trained, competed and worked with Helen during her time in the sport'. Before that, she claimed bronze in the 200m backstroke at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, as well as silvers in the same event at the World Short Course Championships of 1999 and the European Short Course Championships the year before. As a junior, she became European Junior champion in the 200m backstroke in 1996.
Sarah Ruckwood - a Commonwealth champion in the 200m Backstroke at Manchester 2002 - also shared memories of Mrs Smart, in and out of the water. She said: "Myself and Helen shared a very special chapter of our lives - our passion for swimming. Swimming brought us together, a northern lass and a southern girl that shared the same love for swimming backstroke.
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