Next generation of British stars selected for European U23 Championships

Twelve English athletes have been selected as part of a 20-strong cohort to represent Great Britain at the second edition of the European Aquatics Under-23 (U23) Swimming Championships.

With another busy summer of aquatics action on the horizon, the return of the European Aquatics U23 Swimming Championships provides a high-level competition opportunity for a number of the nation’s rising stars that excelled at April’s Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.

That includes a pair of Paris Olympians in Alexander Cohoon and Honey Osrin – with the former a part of the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle relay bronze medal team at these championships in Dublin two years ago.

There’s also a British debut for Bath University’s Niamh Ward, who also impressed at December’s Swim England National Winter Championships with bronze in the 200m Backstroke.

Eye-catching races in London showcased the next generation of swimming talent, and a British title winning swim from Reece Grady in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle contest earns him selection to the U23 European competition open primarily to people born 2002-2006.

Seven members of the team who competed at the 2023 edition of the championships have progressed to secure their involvement at this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore – and that course of direction to transition onto the senior team in future years will be the ambition held by those competing at the X-bionic Sphere pool in Samorin, Slovakia from June 26-28.

‘A team with great depth’

Reflecting on the European U23s team and looking ahead to the competition, Aquatics GB Team Leader for the Championships, Nathan Hilton said:

“It is an exciting prospect that we have put together a team with great depth to attend the second edition of this competition, one that will offer racing against world-class competitors in a big arena environment.

“As we progress towards the LA and Brisbane Games, exposure to these types of championship conditions play a key role within our strategic pathway to develop the next wave of talent – and provide an excellent opportunity for us to embed outstanding team behaviours as we transition athletes towards our senior team.

“With the calibre of this team including two Olympians and seven European junior medallists – while also exposing three new debutants to British teams – we know that each and every one of them can thrive in this big-meet environment and can use the opportunity to build on performances set the Aquatics GB Championships to underpin world class processes for future international competitions.”