Sam Herridge was a stalwart of the Channel Island Swimming Scene. Winning her first Senior Channel Island Swimming Championship title aged just 12, she went on to compete and medal for swimming in seven consecutive Island Games from 1991 until 2003:

- 1991              Aland                                       -          1999    Gotland
- 1993              Isle of Wight                           -          2001    Isle Of Man
- 1995              Gibraltar                                 -           2003    Guernsey
- 1997              Jersey

Successes in Island Games were followed by a National Age Group medal and numerous Southern County Championship titles, aged just 15. Sam by this time had proved herself as a hard-working and dedicated athlete, keen to give her best on all occasions.

Aged 16 in 1994, and training at Kelly College under former Great Britain coach Archie Brew, Sam was the youngest member selected as part of the five strong Guernsey swim team to compete in the 400m, 800m freestyle and 200m butterfly in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada. Here she broke the Island record for the 800m freestyle - a record which still stands to this day. Months of training up to 16 hours per week in addition to studying for A-Levels had been worth it.

The following year she represented the England West Team in the Luxembourg Junior Open Meet, in which she attained two gold’s and a bronze, as well as being selected as the women’s team captain. In the same year, she achieved her second National Age Group medal in the 800m freestyle.

Sam mixed this training with her education, achieving 10 GCSEs and 4 A-Levels, continuing to University to eventually gain a BA(Hons.) in Recreation and Leisure Management. Whilst at University, Sam represented both Guernsey and her University at swimming, whilst concentrating mainly on her education.

After being introduced to and competing in the Masters swimming scene, Sam, aged 27, decided that a new challenge was needed and looked to the sport of Triathlon for motivation. Competing in her first triathlon in June 2004, she has improved immeasurably over the past few years, and gained the qualification standard required to represent Guernsey in the sport at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne – the only female Channel Island athlete representative in this sport.

Competing in her first “drafting” elite race, Sam succeeded in coming out 9th on the swim, and was in the chasing pack for the duration of the bike. She eventually came in 20th position – the first of the non-professional athletes to do so, and arguably the best performance of all the Channel Island Triathletes, being amongst professional full-time athletes for most of the race.

Sam continued to improve throughout her 2006 and 2007 season, becoming 2007 Nokia Windsor Triathlon Champion, Rhodes Island Games Champion, gaining a 3rd place at the Blenheim Sprint Triathlon; and remaining in the top 10 of the majority of her elite start races.

Her 2008 results continued to show her improvement, despite an on-going foot injury and included a 3rd place finish at the Nokia Windsor Triathlon, 3rd place in the prestigious British Grand Prix Series, and a good start  to her international career with a 5th place recorded in the Egirdir ITU European Cup, 13th place recorded in the Vienna ITU European Cup, and a 9th place in the Alanya ITU Premium European Cup.

Sam is currently based in Helston, Cornwall, and manages to combine her training with a part-time job as Centre Manager at Helston Sports Centre, in order to support herself.

Sam hopes to progress further in 2009 and wishes to not only improve her ITU ranking, but also to represent Great Britain in World Cup Events.