Mark Foster

• Born: 12 May 1970

Mark Foster

Mark Foster is one of Great Britain’s most decorated swimmers.

A glittering 23-year career in the pool saw him win 51 international medals and set eight world records.

Foster received his first senior British call-up at the age of 15 and he went on to dominate both the 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly nationally.

His individual breakthrough came in the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, where he won a bronze medal in the 50m Freestyle.

Further successes followed at Commonwealth, European and World level – winning 19 international gold medals in both long and short course pools.

He retired in 2006 but made a comeback a year later in a bid to win an Olympic medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Competing in the 50m Freestyle he was also given the prestigious honour of being the flag bearer for Team GB at the opening ceremony.

Foster is patron of The Anaphylaxis UK and Regain. He has also used his profile to raise awareness of other charities including WellChild, Sports Aid and Swimathon.

In addition, he is a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ community promoting compassion, equality and inclusion.

Foster is well known for his analytical role for the BBC at the major swimming events.

He continues to work across a number of campaigns designed to increase participation in swimming and make the sport more accessible.