Aquatics GB name 36 swimmers as part of Para World Class Programme

Off the back of an unforgettable Paralympic campaign in Paris, 36 athletes have been invited on to the Aquatics GB para-swimming World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2025 season.

Fifteen Paralympic champions are a part of the group following Great Britain’s historic tally of 32 medals and 18 gold at La Defense Arena.

That saw them finish second in the swimming medal table, providing an enviable platform for the LA 2028 cycle, with September’s Para Swimming World Championships in Singapore the next major stop on the road ahead.

Headlining the podium tier of the WCP is Paralympics GB’s most-decorated athlete in Paris in Poppy Maskill as well as multiple gold medallists Maisie Summers-Newton and Alice Tai.

They’re joined by 2024 BBC Young Sport’s Personality of the Year nominee Will Ellard, who’s made the step up from Podium Potential whilst Callie-Ann Warrington’s silver in Paris sees her rewarded with a place on the WCP.

The current Podium Potential tier features a host of future talents and some athletes looking to make their mark on the senior international scene again this year.

That includes the Northampton quartet of Bruce Dee, Amber Haycock and the Humphrey twins – Scarlett and Eliza – as well as Paralympians Harry Stewart and Cameron Vearncombe.

‘Making their mark’

As the programme looks to continue going from strength to strength, Aquatics GB Lead for Para-Swimming, Adam Clarke, is excited by the diverse experience across this year’s athlete cohort and what it can mean for the future.

He said: “So many of the swimmers on this programme have produced outstanding performances over recent years and shown remarkable consistency in that time too.

“Off the back of the Paralympic Games, we are looking forward to seeing how those athletes thrive at the start of a new cycle, with the support of an outstanding staff team around them.

“We also have a host of young competitors who enjoyed breakthrough Games in Paris and will be looking to develop over this season, both in training and when they get the big arena exposure, with a focus on building towards September’s World Championships in Singapore.

“The upcoming Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London is a great example of that, and I look forward to seeing some of the new cohort making their mark and taking in that racing experience also.”

Both tiers will receive opportunities and targeted financial assistance from UK Sport through the World Class Performance Programme’s Athlete Performance Award (APA), with athletes eligible to benefit from competition and training camp opportunities across the season, as well as access to the world-class Aquatics GB performance and sports science and sports medicine services.