Team England squad selected for Commonwealth Youth Games

A 14-strong team of swimmers have been selected to represent Team England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

They will compete alongside more than 1,000 young athletes aged between 14 and 18 in seven sports from 4 – 11 August 2023.

It’s the seventh edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games and this year Team England’s swimmers will be competing for 38 medals at the National Aquatic Centre in Trinidad with the swimming events running from 6 – 9 August.

For many, this will be their first experience in an international multi-sport event which will play an important part in their development.

Team England’s swimmers will be looking to repeat their success of the Bahamas Games in 2017 where they topped the swimming medal table with 21 medals across the competition.

That team included four athletes that went on to represent Team England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games last year, including Olympic Champion Tom Dean – who won seven medals at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

This year’s cohort features a number of European Junior medallists. Evie Dilley, Erin Little and Reuben Rowbotham-Keating all hit the podium at the Championships in Otopeni last summer whilst Chelsea and Westminster’s Nick Finch is set to make his international debut on the Caribbean Island.

European Youth Olympic Festival medallists Oscar Bilbao, Blythe Kinsman and Skye Carter are also a part of the team that will be looking to ‘bring it home’ next month.

Watching future stars emerge

A total of 59 athletes will represent Team England at the Games. They will compete in four of the sports on the programme in Athletics and Para Athletics, Beach Volleyball, FAST5 Netball as well as Swimming.

Team England’s Chef de Mission, Francesca Carter-Kelly, who is also Commonwealth Games England’s Director of Sport and Performance has welcomed the athletes to the team.

She said: “I’m looking forward to working with such an exciting squad of athletes for what I’m sure will be a fantastic Games at Trinbago 2023.

“We have an extremely talented group heading out to Trinidad and Tobago who are all primed to deliver at the Commonwealth Youth Games and make it an experience to remember.

“This is a great opportunity to compete on the international stage and get a first experience of a multi-sport environment.

“I’m excited for competition to begin and I’m sure we will see many standout performances and future stars emerge.”