No sooner had British Swimming announced their funding lists for 2023/24, than they announced a bumper sized squad would head to Romania in December to contest the European Short Course Championships. A team of 35 is large for a meet in a 25m format that doesn’t always attract significant support from British Swimming, but this probably reflects the planning of the coming Olympic season.

As with the funding lists, no doubt Chris Spice and Bill Furniss have a good idea who will form the nucleus of the Olympic team, the vagaries of form and trials notwithstanding, and getting that group together will serve as much as a team building exercise for Paris as it will an opportunity to test race skills in an international competition.

The team of 35 includes the whole of the podium funding group with the exception of Adam Peaty, who will instead continue his comeback long course at the Rotterdam Preparation meet, and James Wilby who sits this one out. The remaining 22 podium funded swimmers are then joined by 10 selected from the podium potential group.

Against that backdrop, it’s perhaps instructive to look at the three un-funded swimmers who make up the balance of the team. On the women’s side Imogen Clark gets a call up and should be expected to be challenging for medals over 50m breaststroke, but her inclusion also reflects a need to maintain a backup for Kara Hanlon in the 100m. Clark is all in on the LC 100 as she told us on the pullbuoy podcast earlier this year, and while that didn’t quite come to fruition long course this year, she remains the current British number 2 in that event so it makes sense to keep her involved with the national team.

It’s all breaststroke to top up the men’s squad also, with Archie Goodburn and Greg Butler included. Given the absence of Peaty and Wilby this is perhaps less an indication of any forward thinking to Paris than it is a pragmatic response to allow medley relays to compete. That said, Goodburn showed good speed over 50m at trials this year and took bronze in that event at the European U23 championships, albeit his 100m didn’t go exactly to plan. He remains a potential bolter for the Olympic team on that basis, while Butler has been in favour with the GB selectors recently, including selection for the world championships in Fukuoka. Both men will be keen to keep themselves in the front of the selectors minds as viable alternatives to Wilby and Peaty

GB Team with funding levels

• Abbie Wood (Podium)
• Alexander Cohoon (Potential)
• Anna Hopkin (Podium)
• Archie Goodburn (Not Funded)
• Ben Proud (Podium)
• Brodie Williams (Podium)
• Cameron Brooker (Potential)
• Duncan Scott (Podium)
• Edward Mildred (Potential)
• Emily Large (Potential)
• Evan Jones (Potential)
• Freya Anderson (Podium)
• Freya Colbert (Podium)
• Gregory Butler (Not Funded)
• Imogen Clark (Not Funded)
• Jack McMillan (Potential)
• Jacob Peters (Podium)
• Jacob Whittle (Podium)
• James Guy (Podium)
• Joe Litchfield (Podium)
• Jonathon Adam (Potential)
• Kara Hanlon (Potential)
• Kathleen Dawson (Podium)
• Katie Shanahan (Podium)
• Keanna MacInnes (Potential)
• Laura Stephens (Podium)
• Lauren Cox (Potential)
• Leah Schlosshan (Potential)
• Lewis Burras (Podium)
• Lucy Hope (Podium)
• Luke Greenbank (Podium)
• Matthew Richards (Podium)
• Medi Harris (Podium)
• Oliver Morgan (Podium)
• Tom Dean (Podium)

Banner Image British Swimming/Georgie Kerr