Team packed with ‘great potential’ heading to European Junior Championships

Olympian Jacob Whittle is one of 42 young swimmers named in a British Swimming team packed with ‘great potential’ heading to the European Junior Championships.

The event, being held at the Otopeni Olympic Swimming Complex in Bucharest, Romania, between 5-10 July, will be a ‘hugely valuable learning experience’ for one of the largest British junior squads to participate in Europe’s premier age-group competition.

It also includes several medallists from last year’s European Juniors and several who are making their first appearance on the international stage.

Eva Okaro (Sevenoaks), Leah Schlosshan (City of Leeds), Harvey Freeman (Northampton SC) and Evan Jones (Millfield) all earned medals at the European Juniors in Rome in 2021.

Joining them on the plane to Romania are rising youngsters Ashleigh Baillie, Phoebe Cooper (both City of Sheffield) and Iona Colbert (Nova Centurions), who all enjoyed eye-catching meets at the British Swimming Championships last month. 

Significant challenge

The full team has been named following those successful British Championships, which featured more than 1,500 swimmers, many of them juniors, across 18 sessions.

Alan Lynn, British Swimming’s head of performance development, said: “There were many outstanding swims from our junior athletes at the British Championships, which was even more impressive given the lack of competition opportunities many have had over the past two years. 

“It means we have been able to select a team with great potential for Bucharest, which we know will be a hugely valuable learning experience for every swimmer involved. 

“Top-level racing against the best juniors from across the continent will be a significant challenge for our young team, as will the chance to experience that moment of competing for an international medal in the cauldron of an intense, unfamiliar arena. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing the outcomes from this meet, two years out from Paris and with others targeting continued progression along the journey to LA in 2028.”