Zophia Quigley
In this nightlenses.com chat we talk to short-sighted junior Northern Irish elite swimmer, Zophia Quigley, 16, who switched to night lenses to help her progress her swimming career. Zophia was recently part of the relay team that broke the Irish Senior Club relay record. She’s one to watch for the future. A must-read for any swimmers who struggle with day lenses or prescription goggles and want an alternative that doesn’t involve laser surgery. Also a great watch for any elite sportsperson who feels like their eyesight is holding them back. Zophia talks openly about how night lenses have helped her swimming career and why she recommends them for elite athletes.
Hi Zophia, why did you get into night lenses?
I switched to night lenses due to the problems I was having in the pool with my vision. It’s just so hard when you use glasses because you can’t use them in the pool obviously and you can’t see! During training when I’m at the edge of the pool trying to look at the coaches board to see which set you are meant to do, notes or times, it’s just a nightmare. You spend so long sitting there trying to work it out – am I doing 50 free, or am I doing 200 fly? But then you miss the time to push off the wall, and before you know it you’ve already missed 200 fly in a session in the first ten minutes!
What difference have night lenses made to your swimming and practicve sessions?
They have improved it so much. Night lenses have taken all the hassle out of swimming and have made it about 10x more efficient for me to swim! I can look at the wall and then the board and think “Oh! I’m doing 50 free” and I’m off in 2 seconds, whereas before it would have taken 1 minute, resulting in the annoying question for my coach which he hears regularly “What are we doing?” So it has definitely made swimming 10x more fun and it has helped me improve as I’m off the wall and swimming more overall.
Zophia squinting at the board during a race … before night lenses of course! Her squinting days are over.
Night lenses are definitely going to improve my swimming performance as it is more efficient to swim without anything on or in your eyes. Less squinting at coaches notes and being able to see my times has improved my training. Night lenses are definitely improving my performance and my times.
Canadian swimmer Maggie Mac Neil famously didn’t know she had won the 100m butterfly at the 2020 Olympics because she couldn’t see the board. Images of her massive squint turning to joy went around the world. This is why night lenses are becoming the eyecare device of choice for short-sighted elite swimmers worldwide.
If you have an interest in any water based sport, especially swimming, you should use night lenses. It’s as simple as that. They will improve your swimming performance and also your life so much!
Would you ever go back to glasses or day lenses?
No. Night lenses have definitely been a step forward, in fact a LEAP forward in the right direction!
