Leah Crisp thanks her support network ahead of Olympic debut

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games underway, we’re taking a closer look at the some of the English athletes that will be competing in the French capital.

Bath Performance Centre swimmer Leah Crisp has thanked her support network and earliest clubs and coaches as she prepares for her Olympic debut.

She’s set to take to the River Seine on Thursday 8 August for the Women’s 10km Marathon Swimming event and recalls the moment of when she qualified for the Games as a ‘lovely moment’.

She said: “There were a few happy tears. Just a lot of joy and everyone saying how proud they are, and it was just a really lovely moment.

“And I’m really fortunate in that since it’s so close to home, I’ve got quite a lot of family and friends traveling out to watch as well. It’s really good to have that support network going as well.

“I think it’s just nice knowing that they’re going to be there to support you. And, you really want to do them proud, do yourself proud, and do the country proud.”

Crisp has enjoyed significant success on a domestic level throughout her career. In the pool she took both the 800m and 1500m Freestyle titles at the British Swimming Championships in 2019 before following that up with another 800m Freestyle British crown in 2022.

She’s only transitioned into senior open water competition in recent years and thanked her first coaches and the social side of swimming for helping bring through that love of the sport.

“I think it (swimming) has got such a good sense of community to it. Everyone’s there for each other and you go through so many experiences with your swim friends as you’re growing up. It’s just a really unique type of bond and I think that’s what really drew me to the sport.

“And you learn so much from the sport as well in terms of like dedication, time management, and just working hard. There’s so many valuable skills you pick up along the way.”

Looking forward to giving it my best shot

“I learned to swim near my home in Leeds, and I had a swim teacher who recommended me to trial for a club.

“From there I joined Rothwell, and I was in the Leeds pathway. So I joined City of Leeds swimming club when I was about eight-years-old, and I stayed there until I was 18. So I had a good ten years at the club.

“I moved up through the age groups there, making my first nationals and everything before moving to Bath after.

“Those early clubs and people have had such a huge impact on me. I was with my coach from when I was about 12 until I was about 18. And in that period I became an age group champion, I went to European juniors and then also become British senior champion. So I went through a lot with that coach.

“It had such a big impact to my career and really helped with the building blocks and stepping stones to get to this point at Bath with all the incredible people around me.”

Crisp has also recalled her times on the Swim England pathways throughout her career, including being part of the Swim England Senior Performance squad camp in Lanzarote ahead of her qualifying for the Games at the World Championships in Doha.

“That that was great. I’ve been through all the different Swim England pathways. That was brilliant in helping you connect with swimmers across the country and you get to train with people you wouldn’t normally train with and you’re able to learn from them as well.

“And it was also great at just giving you experience of being away from home on camps and trips and competitions, and it’s obviously very helpful and valuable to learn that experience and get used to that.”

Heading into the Games, the Team GB open water contingent have been clocking up the racing miles with a high altitude training camp and a focused racing block across before the European Championships in June.

Accompanying that, Crisp also completed her degree in Maths and Economics at Bath and now heads to Paris focussed on giving everything to get on that podium.

“It is really exciting. It’s what everyone aims for when you’re a young child. You want to become an Olympian, so it is really exciting to have to achieve your dream.

“I’m looking forward to just really kind of getting stuck in with it and giving it my best shot.

“I like to think in open water that it’s anyone’s race every time day so you never really know. Conditions can always change, so I’m just really excited to go in there and just give my absolute best shot and see what I can do.”

You can find all the details on how to watch every event at the Olympic Games here.