Mark Foster is a former Olympic and Commonwealth Swimmer.
Foster burst onto the International swimming scene at the age of 16, representing England at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.
He represented his country more times than any other male swimmer.
Throughout his impressive three-decade career, Mark Foster has won 47 international medals; competed in 5 Olympics, been 8 times Commonwealth champion, 11 times European champion and 8 times World record holder.
As a result, Mark was selected to lead out Team GB at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Out of the pool, Mark has become a familiar face on television, including appearances on ITV1’s ‘Beat the Stars’, Five’s ‘Superstars’ and most famously hitting the dance floor in 2009’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ on BBC1.
Since retiring from swimming, Mark has become a familiar face on television. His award-winning partnership with Clare Balding from the aquatics centre during the 2012 Olympics, made him a household name.
Mark has also co-hosted the BBC coverage of the World Swimming Championships from Barcelona with Gabby Logan.
More recently, Mark formed yet another popular media partnership commentating from the pool at the Rio Olympics with Rebecca Adlington and Helen Skelton.
Outside of media appearances, Mark is also a model and an ambassador for the British designer Ted Baker and has inspired a specific T for Tall men’s clothing range available online and in Ted Baker stores across the world.
Mark is also a regular blogger for the Huffington Post on current sporting and lifestyle issues.
Mark Foster – Motivational Speaking:
Mark’s post-swimming career has seen him reinvent himself as a successful motivational speaker and is now one of the most popular speakers on the circuit.
His ability to talk to a variety of audiences about a wide range of subjects makes him a highly sought after guest speaker.
Competing for 23 years at the highest level of his sport has taught Mark many invaluable lessons about how to build and maintain a successful career.
Subsequently, he has translated these lessons into motivational talks and interventions that are transferable to the business management environment.
Speaking Topics:
- Discipline and Training
- Mindset and being prepared
- Partnerships and Teamwork; strengths and weaknesses in the team environment
- Peak performance
- Goal setting and delivery
- Learning from mistakes and dealing with setbacks
- Working outside your comfort zone
- An insight into the World’s biggest Sporting event – The Olympic Games
- Partnerships and teamwork – recognising that you can’t do it alone and nurturing strengths and weaknesses in a team environment.
More recently, Mark has discussed his sexuality publicly for the first time. He reflected on how his reluctance to be open about being gay with colleagues and coaches, may have impacted his professional performance and general well being.
Mark uses this experience to motivate businesses and organisations the importance of having open and inclusive Diversity Strategies in place, in order to get the best from staff teams and improve their commitment and performance.
