Swim England Talent youngsters to take on Olympic champions in Luxembourg

Young swimmers on the Swim England Talent Pathway will gain valuable international experience this weekend as they compete against some of the sport’s biggest stars in Luxembourg.

Fifteen members of the Swim England Performance Squad are set to take part in the Luxembourg Euro Meet 2020.

They will be joined by 23 representatives from the Swim England South East region, including a number of athletes who recently impressed at Swim England’s National Event Camps.

Performance Squad swimmers Lily Booker, Emily Barclay, Sophie Freeman, Amy Bell, Lauren Cox, Chloe Golding, Honey Osrin, Isabel Goodwin, Leah Crisp and Mia Slevin will have the chance to compete against Olympic champions Katinka Hosszu and Sarah Sjostrom.

Crisp is the third seed in the Women’s 800m Freestyle and second seed in the 1500m Freestyle, while Barclay will be hoping to challenge Sjostrom for a medal in the 50m Freestyle, heading in with the third fastest qualifying time.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Brodie Williams is the fastest qualifier in the Men’s 200m Backstroke.

Grant Robins, Swim England Head of Talent – Swimming, said it was an important meet for the swimmers ahead of the British Championships and Olympic trials in April.

“For the majority of our swimmers, it will be their first long course swims of the season,” he said. “They will be aiming to get a second swim in the evenings and that final experience.

“It will be great if they all swim well [in Luxembourg] but that’s not the be all and end all. The primary objective is to use it as preparation for the Olympic trials.

“It’s a strong entry list and it will be a pretty challenging meet but we’re looking forward to it.”

Proud and van der Merwe lead the way

There will be a strong British contingent in Luxembourg, headlined by Kayla van der Merwe and Ben Proud.

Van der Merwe – who won multiple junior international medals in 2019 – is the top seed in the Women’s 100m and 200m Breaststroke.

Proud will continue his preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as he looks to defend his titles in the 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly.

The 2017 world champion – who will represent Energy Standard – holds the meet record in both events.

Imogen Clark heads in as favourite for the Women’s 50m Breaststroke title, while Michaella Glenister (Leicester Sharks) and Freya Colbert (Nova Centurion) are also in action.

The Swim England Performance Squad athletes will be supported by head coach Kevin Brooks (Wycombe District) and coaches Adam Ruckwood (City of Coventry), Robin Armayan (Plymouth Leander) and Jamie Main (Derventio eXcel).