Press Releases
December 2009:
Isle of Wight born swimmer Darren Mew who now competes for Ellesmere College Titans broke the 50m Breaststroke British Record at the weekend in Millfield. Mew swam a time of 27.44 to regain the record from James Gibson whos previous record stood at 27.46. It means the 30 year redains the record he first broke 12 years ago and last held in 2002.
Mew swam the race despite being on antibiotics and recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained whilst at the European Championships in Istanbul the week before. He was forced to withdraw from the 100m Breaststroke the day before as a result of the chest infection that he was on medication for.
He will be back in action in January at the burns meet in Sheffield.
October 2009:
Ellesmere College Titans Swimmer Darren Mew has been selected to compete for Great Britain in the up coming European Short Course Swimming Championships to be held in Istanbul in December. He has been selected to swim in three events, 50 and 100 Breaststroke and the 4x50 medley relay. Mew says " Its great to be selected to swim for my country again. I had a good break away from swimming and its a nice way to finish off my first full year back. The main target for the season is the Commonwealth Games so the Championships will be a great stepping stone on the way to India".
December 2008:
Darren is one of the select 40 athletes from around the world to be asked to participate in the Champions project .
National Portrait Gallery
St. Martin's Place
London WC2H OHE
Room 40
Admission Free
www.npg.org.uk/live/prelchampions.asp
Striking, iconic nude studies of leading international athletes photographed by Anderson & Low (www.andersonandlow.com) form the basis of this first showing of their Champions portfolio. These works celebrate the achievements and physique of international sportspersons at the height of their careers through classically posed, black and white portraits.
Several years in preparation, the portfolio was produced in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (www.ejaf.com/Ourevents/ANDERSONLOW) to raise awareness about the global issues of HIV/AIDS. The subjects for the portraits are drawn from a range of sporting disciplines and include Thierry Henry, Matt Dawson, Darren Mew, Mark Foster, Billie Jean King and Venus Williams. By participating, these sports stars have drawn attention to the importance and relevance of continued education, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
Anderson and Low described the project: 'From the start, we wanted to photograph athletes from a range of countries, sports, and races. For all that they have in common, such as physical beauty, mental and emotional strength, and commitment to their goals, the participants offered us unique artistic opportunities with every shoot. Through their very act of participation, all the athletes have laid themselves bare. A major part of our statement is achieved through the project's nudity. These people have the most amazing physicality, but despite this they are as vulnerable to HIV and AIDS as the rest of humanity, and hence the nudity becomes symbolic of this. We want to make them icons of a different sort with this work.
Sir Elton John, Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, says 'I am delighted that the National Portrait Gallery is hosting this exhibition of wonderful photographs of internationally renowned male and female athletes. Anderson & Low have caught in these heroic images of the human body at peak physical condition just how frail, vulnerable and defenceless we all are in the face of such a pernicious virus as HIV'.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation aims to provide funding for educational programmes targeted at HIV/AIDS prevention and/or the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for programmes that provide services to people living with or at risk from HIV/AIDS.
November 2008:
Darren has now returned to full training at Team Bath. After spending 6 months with family and taking time to think about his future Darren is now training again with the Commonwealth Games in 2010 his next major target. "With the next Olympics taking place in London it was too good an oppotunity to pass on" Darren says. "Its a huge honour swimming for you country and to be able to do that infront of a home crowd at an Olympics would be adream come true"
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