º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ's Alice Dearing is set to make history by becoming the first black British woman to qualify for an Olympic swimming event. Image: Still Sport Photography.
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Swimming’s Alice Dearing is set to make history by becoming the first black British woman to qualify for an Olympic swimming event.
Dearing’s fourth-place finish in the Tokyo 2020 marathon swimming qualification race in Setubal, Portugal, looks to be enough to see the 24-year-old secure her place in Japan.
Following the result, Dearing will now be nominated for a place in the Team GB squad for the Games, which is likely to be ratified by the British Olympic Association in the coming days.
Dearing completed the 10km course in two hours two minutes one second.
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ swimming will be well represented at the Olympic and Paralympic Games with several of its athletes set to appear on the world stage.
Tokyo-bound Louise Hansson (Sweden), Marie Wattel (France), Felix Auböck (Austria), Andreas Vazaios (Greece), Daniel Wiffen (Ireland), Danilo Rosafio (Kenya), and Vladyslava Kravchenko (Malta) have all come through the pathway at the University.
They will be joined by current students Abbie Wood (Team GB), Joe Litchfield (Team GB), and Luke Greenbank (Team GB).
Also on the plane will be alumni Sarah Vasey (Team GB), and James Wilby (Team GB), alongside fellow º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ-linked Team GB swimmers Adam Peaty, Max Litchfield, Molly Renshaw, and Anna Hopkin.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics take place between 23 July 2021 – 8 August 2021 and the Paralympic Games will be between 24 August 2021 – 5 September 2021.
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 21/107
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019.
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 7th in the Guardian University League Table 2021, 5th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 and 6th in The UK Complete University Guide 2021.
º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
