Aquatics GB today confirmed the team that will head to Paris for the European Championship in August of this year. After a successful Aquatics GB Championships in London last week, 36 swimmers, including seven making their senior international debut, have been included in a squad that will have high hopes of medal success
In the first instance there were no surprises because the team of 40 allowed everyone who made an individual time and finished first or second in London a seat on the Eurostar. That meant 22 swimmers got the nod and they were joined by a further 7 who made the grade courtesy of a relay quartet. Those 29 are:
Event winners with qualifying times
- Freya Colbert
- Lauren Cox
- Angharad Evans
- Joshua Gammon
- James Guy
- Max Litchfield
- Keanna MacInnes
- Edward Mildred
- Oliver Morgan
- Filip Nowacki
- Eva Okaro
- Adam Ramsay-Peaty
- Matt Richards
- Duncan Scott
- Amalie Smith
- Abbie Wood
Event runners up with qualifying times:
- Greg Butler
- Luke Greenbank
- Jacob Peters
- Emily Richards
- Jack Skerry
- Theodora Taylor
Relay swimmers:
- Freya Anderson
- Evelyn Davis
- Jack McMillan
- Jacob Mills
- Leah Schlosshan
- Gabriel Shepherd
- Jacob Whittle
The main interest came, as it often does, in the additional 7 names that were added to the team, namely:
- Alex Cohoon
- Rio Daodu
- Tom Dean
- Evan Jones
- Tyler Melbourne-Smith
- Katie Shanahan
- Matthew Ward
The team announcement noted that these selections were based on “performances at the 2026 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships; providing relay alternates for athletes with busy schedules; prioritising European medal opportunities; and athletes that are on a trajectory to podium success at the LA 2028 Olympic Games”.
Now Tom Dean and Alex Cohoon didn’t swim in London due to injury and illness respectively, but have been picked with relays in mind it would seem. Indeed relays seem to be the major focus of the discretionary picks, with Dean, Tyler Melbourne-Smith and Evan Jones bolstering the 4×200 squad and Cohoon and Mount Kelly’s Rio Daodu, the 4×100. This represents a first senior call up for Daodu, who finished 7th in the 100 free final in London in a lifetime best of 48.75. With these additions GB are pretty much in a space where they could switch an entire team in both relays if they so wished.
Matt Ward gets a pick having made the QT with a Socttish Record in the heats of the 100m backstroke, but then just missing it in the final, while fellow Scot Katie Shanahan is included having swum a curtailed programme in London after illness and injury.
Indeed injury may yet lead to changes for this team – Dean, Cohoon and Shanahan are all listed as having to prove their fitness, presumably at one of the Mare Nostrum, AP Race International or Sette Colli meets in the lead up to championship season.
Speaking at the end of the meet in London GB Head Coach Steve Tigg told pullbuoy that programmes would be carefully managed and that Britain would not be chasing the top of the medal table, instead focussing on excellence in targeted events and giving other swimmers experience.
“We’d rather have individuals who are going there and performing really well in an event, but maybe sacrificing another one” he said. “We’ll focus on the Olympic relays and we’ll allow some of the non-Olympic relays to be development opportunities for the relay alternates who don’t get the chance to swim in the final.”
There was also an acknowledgement that this would be a second international competition in short order for those who also race in Glasgow, another reason to control workloads and why relay extras are high in the wildcard picks. “Ultimately what we want to do is maximise the opportunities, but be mindful that we’ve asked them to do the Commonwealth Games.”
Regardless of the short turnaround this is a strong team that will be competitive across the board. In 2014, the GB team went to Euros after a Glasgow Commonwealth Games and left with a hatful of medals – this team has the potential to do likewise.