Swim Wales at the Olympics & Paralympics

Born: 02.09.1999, Bicester

Kieran Bird’s journey to the Olympic Games started in 2012 when watching Chad Le Clos pip Michael Phelps to gold in London. He is now set for his second Olympic Games appearance.

Nine years later Bird was on the plane to Tokyo after qualifying for Team GB by winning the 400m freestyle at the British Swimming Selection Trials.

Finishing 20th overall in Japan, a year later Bird won gold in the 4x200m mixed freestyle relay at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome.

The Welsh athlete represented his country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he just missed out on a final place after his preparation was hindered by COVID-19.

At the British National Championships in April 2024, Bird set a personal best of 3:45.63 as he won gold in the men’s 400 freestyle and also set bests in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyles.

First competing for Great Britain in 2015 at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia as a butterfly swimmer, Bird later turned his attention to freestyle swimming.

Born: 15.09.2002, Porthmadog

The Porthmadog swimmer first made a splash in Welsh colours, winning 100m backstroke bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games aged 19 before continuing her rise by representing Great Britain. A quartet of medals at the European Championships just a few weeks later was the perfect way to start, with Harris returning from Rome with 100m backstroke silver as well as gold in 4x100m freestyle relay.

It was all part of a perfect breakout year for the Swansea University graduate, who also made the finals of the 50m and 100m backstroke at the World Championships.

Harris continued to enjoy success on the international stage heading towards Paris, sealing 200m backstroke gold at the European Short Course Championships at the end of 2023 before earning silver in 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

The North Walian will hope to continue that form at the Games this summer as she makes good on her talent that was evident from a young age, boasting a number of junior medals to her name. She won Commonwealth Youth Games silver in 2017 and was part of the 4x100m medley relay team that won bronze at the European Junior Championships in 2019.

Born: 29.03.2001, Wrexham

History-making open water swimmer Hector Pardoe will compete at his second Olympics at Paris 2024.

Vegetarian Pardoe, who covers 85km in the pool every week, marked himself out as one to watch by becoming the first British swimmer to win a world junior open water medal with bronze in 2016.

Having started out at Ellesmere College, he took a plunge and moved to France to train in 2020 and made his Olympic debut in the marathon event at Tokyo 2020.

Now back training in the UK, Pardoe kicked on in the Paris cycle. In 2023, he set a new record for the fastest swim from end to end of Lake Windermere. He covered the largest natural lake in England in 3 hours 40 minutes and 28 seconds, surpassing the previous record by eight minutes and raising money for charity in the process.

Pardoe won a historic 10km bronze at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, becoming the first British man to win a global open water medal since Welsh compatriot David Davies, securing a quota place for Paris 2024.