What a year. From a first long course world championships to be held in an Olympic year, via a hugely successful and hotly contested British Championships, an earth shattering Olympic Games in Paris and a final sign off at the World Short Course Championships in Budapest, there was a huge amount of high quality British swimming on show in 2024. Every meet delivered medals and thirteen new British Records were inked into the books, but now, for the 25th time, comes the moment to name the pullbuoy swimmers of the year for 2024.
Male Swimmer of the Year: Duncan Scott
The superlatives were used up long ago and for the fourth time Duncan Scott takes the honours in this category after a year of customary excellence, capped by his 200IM silver in Paris and his starring role in delivering a repeat gold medal in the 4x200m Freestyle relay.
On those criteria, it would be hard to overlook the claims of Matt Richards, who delivered an equal Olympic return, and indeed Aquatics GB decided not to split them in their own swimmer of the year awards. But for us, a 4th place in the 200 free in Paris and the fact that he went on into the short course season setting three scorching British Records including the 5th best all time 200 free all time, just tipped the balance in the Stirling swimmer’s favour. While it was always in the plan to skip the World Short Course championships, the head-to-head with new World Record holder Luke Hobson in that 200 was perhaps the race that got away.
How long can he go on? At 27 surely he must have an eye on LA in 2028, but regardless we should simply enjoy the privilege of having one of the best swimmers in the world on the British team for as long as he chooses to continue.
Female Swimmer of the Year:
Breakthrough Swimmer of the Year: Angharad Evans
We knew she was coming after attracting attention at last year’s Rotterdam meet, but the way that Angharad Evans attacked 2024 still went beyond most reasonable expectations.
A slight wobble at trials, where she swam the 100m breaststroke nomination time in the heat but fell just shy in winning the final, was firmly consigned to the bin by what came next once Olympic selection was confirmed. Clearly deciding that 1:06 point swims were not where it was at, Angharad posted a run of 1:05 point efforts kick started by a sensational 1:05.54 British Record at the AP meet in London. She went 65 again in Edinburgh and Rome, before doing it twice again in Paris, the final her fastest swim of the meet. For good measure she also set the fastest GB relay split all time for 100 breaststroke at the Olympics.
It wasn’t all the LC pool though – having rattled the British SC Record at the end of 2023, she drove a coach and horses through it at World SC with a remarkable swim of 1:03.45 and then was a key part of the quartet that won medley relay silver.
There is no doubt that she belongs at the top table of breaststroke swimming globally. With a year of top class experience behind her it is hugely exciting to look forward to what 2025 may bring.
An honourable mention here for Abbie Wood who acquitted herself well in Paris and then bashed out a stellar 200IM at the World SC championships for bronze, adding a second bronze over 400IM and pinch hitting the backstroke leg for that silver medal winning medley relay. She had a great year. Other contenders were Freya Colbert and Laura Stephens, both of whom won world titles in Doha.
Performance of the Year: Men’s 4×200 Freestyle, Paris 2024
A repeat relay gold, with the same quartet that had won it the first time round? Never been done before 2024 when the foursome of James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott did exactly that. The only piece of symmetry missing was that they switched up the order, but given the form Guy was in on the lead off, that can be forgiven.
It was a performance of huge class, recognising that the pool was perhaps going to mean that the WR was out of reach and that touching first was all that mattered, with a resurgent US quartet always a danger. Except they were never really a danger as the GB men put in the type of performance that we might have seen from the great Australian quartets of the early 2000’s – having been handed the lead by the flying Guy, Dean and Richards swam smart, not over swimming at the start, managing the competition through the first part of each leg and then simply swimming away from them over the closing metres. For Ian Thorpe read Duncan Scott, and the moment that he was given a half second lead was the moment the race was over. Scott did what Scott does, dropping a huge 1:43.95 split that was almost a second quicker than anyone else in the entire field managed.
It was a sensational, and in some ways very un-British, performance and the only question now is: can they do it again in 2028?
Race of the Year: Max Litchfield, 400IM, Paris 2024
It may not have delivered a medal, but it was the most dramatic if ultimately gut-wrenching, race of the year. After 2 years off the GB team, Max Litchfield returned this year and promptly won 400IM silver at the Doha world championships. He followed that up with a classy British Record in the same event at trials and we dared to dream that he might break the run of 4th places that had dogged him at the Olympics when Paris came around.
Gold of course was sewn up by the incomparable Leon Marchand, but Litchfield found himself in a three way tussle with Tomoyuki Matsushita of Japan and Carson Foster of the USA for the silver and bronze medals. It all looked to be going so well for the Brit as he started within himself, worked his way through to 4th at 300m and hit the final turn in silver medal position. This was it we thought. What followed was heartbreak as the Japanese and American were able to eke just a little more out on the final 50 to get past Litchfield who finished 4th for the third Olympics in a row, no doubt eliciting howls of anguish up and down the British isles.
But what a race it had been, and with the silver lining of a new British Record and a maiden swim sub 4:09 with an excellent 4:08.85. You can ask no more of an athlete than to give of their best when it matters and Max did just that, in the most dramatic GB race of the year.
An honourable mention here to the men’s 200 freestyle final in Paris where an outside smoker from Matt Richards was just shy of Gold and a fast finishing Duncan Scott was just off the podium.
Young Swimmer of the Year: Eva Okaro
The Olympics is the pinnacle of the sport and the highest pressure environment to compete in. Not that you would have known watching Eva Okaro, who having qualified for the 4x100m freestyle relay quartet, arrived for the heats and swam a speedy 53.84 split, before repeating the trick in the final with a split of 53.75. Only 8 British women have ever split sub-54 and here Okaro was doing it on her first senior appearance.
Come the end of the year and further highlights at the world SC championship when in the same session she set a world junior record of 23.66 for 4th place in the 50m freestyle and put in a vital 100 fly leg to help Britain to a hugely unexpected medley relay silver medal. There would appear to be a lot more to come, even before she moves to swim in the NCAA for Texas next year.
An honourable mention to Amelie Blocksidge who won double gold at the European Junior Championships over 800m and 1500m freestyle.
Banner image: Patrick B. Kraemer/LEN