Welsh athletes will aim to book their place in Paris at the 2024 British Swimming Championships and Olympic & Paralympic trials this week.
The iconic London Aquatics Centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will play host to the first combined Championships from 2nd-7th April 2024. The new-look British Championships will see Olympic and Paralympic swimming event schedules running concurrently in the same programme across six days of heats and finals sessions. View everything you need to know here.
Welsh swimmers head to the 2012 Olympic venue with their sights set on British glory and a coveted place on the Team GB squad for this summer’s Games. The 2024 British Championships will be broadcast across BBC and Channel 4.
Six Welsh athletes, Kieran Bird, Calum Jarvis, Daniel Jervis, Harriet Jones, Matthew Richards and Alys Thomas appeared at the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, with Jarvis and Richards ending Wales’ 107-year wait for Olympic gold in the pool.
Both Jarvis and Thomas are now retired from competition and helping next generation of athletes in new roles, but the quartet of active swimmers are back to fight for a place on the plane (or train).
Since the Tokyo Games, Richards has gone on to become Wales’ first individual world champion and will fight it out with the likes of reigning Olympic champion Tom Dean in the 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle events. Bird will join him in the 100m and 200m and will race his favoured 400m Freestyle event.
Jervis, who reached the 1500m Freestyle final three years ago, will again look to assert his dominance in the distance event. Jones will again look to qualify in the 100m Butterfly, and will swim in the 50m and 100m Freestyle.
Medi Harris has earned an individual Commonwealth bronze and European and World relay medals after bursting onto the scene in recent years. The 21-year-old will be out to make her Olympic debut as she aims to showcase her talents in the 100m & 200m Free as well as her preferred 100m & 200m Backstroke events.
Multiple Welsh record holder Lewis Fraser is hoping to put himself in the conversation after representing Team GB in the U23 European Swimming Championships in Dublin. The Swansea swimmer will race the 100m Free and 100m Fly at the London Aquatics Centre.
After clinching brace of distance golds at the Commonwealth Youth Games, Tyler Melbourne-Smith will test himself against the likes of Jervis in the 1500m, as well as the 200m, 400m, and 800m events.
Despite being just 15-years-old, Swim Wales Performance Athlete of the Year Theodora Taylor, earned multiple medals in Trinidad & Tobago and has set a host of Welsh junior records in the last 12 months. After gaining valuable experience racing against Olympic medallists with Swim Wales in Westmont, Illinois, she will test herself against the best of Britain in the 50m & 100m Freestyle and 100m & 200m Breaststroke.
With the para-swimming events running parallel, the likes of Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Lily Rice will be aiming to impress. The Pembrokeshire athlete will display her stroke repertoire in the 100m & 400m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke and 100m Breaststroke. She will be joined in the multi-class races by Meghan Willis (50m Free, 100m Free, 400m Free, 100m Back, 100m Fly & 200m IM) & Ela Letton-Jones (100m Free & 100m Back.)
World silver medallist Rhys Darbey will look to secure his spot in Paris in the 100m Free, 100m Back, 100m Breast and 200m IM, and Dylan Broom will compete in the 100m Free, 200m Free, 100m Back and 200m IM.
Swim Wales National Performance Director Ross Nicholas said: “The combined 2024 British Swimming Championships provides a fantastic opportunity for Welsh athletes to test themselves against the best of Britain.
“This year is a hugely exciting one for our sport with the Paris 2024 Olympics & Paralympics just four months away. With places on the team up for grabs, the British Championships are a fantastic opportunity for athletes to showcase their ability following years of hard work and dedication in the pool. We are excited to see what can be achieved in London after some hugely positive performances over recent weeks and months.”
