Swimmer Freya Anderson in a race

Current student Freya Colbert. Image provided by Morgan Harlow.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ swimmers impress at British Championships

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ-linked swimmers produced some remarkable performances at the British Championships to book their respective places at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.  

Current Bioengineering student Freya Colbert backed up world gold by winning the 400m medley with a lifetime best (4:34:01) to achieve the Olympic qualification time in classy style.

The 20-year-old had already secured victory in the 200m freestyle and will now head to Paris full of confidence in what will be her maiden Games.  

Another current student, Alex Cohoon, booked his place on GB’s 4x100m relay squad after finishing a brilliant fourth in a packed field. Alex will team up with compatriots Matt Richards, Tom Dean, and Duncan Scott at the showpiece sporting event in France’s capital city.

Honey Osrin, another current student, booked her name on the Olympic Games roster after storming to victory in the 200m backstroke. Osrin, who is studying Criminology, hit the wall in 2:08.37 to make the nomination time and take the British title.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ swimmer Honey Osrin

Image caption: Honey Osrin in action. Image provided by Morgan Harlow.

There was further success for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ as alumna Abbie Wood claimed the British crown in the 200m Individual Medley with a stunning personal best time of 2:08.91.

The rapid performance from Wood sees her qualify for back-to-back Olympic Games having competed for GB at Tokyo 2020.

Fellow Alumni Joe Litchfield will also travel to Paris after a sterling win in the 100m fly at the Aquatics Centre. Litchfield remarkably came from sixth on the turn to power through for the title, recording a qualification time of 51.71 seconds.

He will be joined by his brother, Max Litchfield, after he set a new British record in the men's 400m Individual Medley. Max, who trains at the University, recorded a time of 4:09.14 to make his third successive Olympic Games following performances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 respectively.

Crowd favourite Adam Peaty also qualified for the Paris Olympics with a statement win in London. º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ-based Peaty stormed to the 100m breaststroke title in the fastest time this year to win in 57.94 seconds.

The three-time Olympic champion, 29, will now have his sights on more international glory as he aims to add to his five Olympic Games medals this summer.

Anna Hopkin, who trains out of º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, also had a championship to remember by winning two individual disciplines to book her slot in Paris. Hopkin recorded a fine win in the 100m freestyle in 53.33 seconds to follow her equally impressive victory in the 50m freestyle earlier in the week.

Further º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ swimmers are expected to be called up to GB’s line-up when official squads are announced in due course.  

The Aquatics GB Swimming Championships were held in London from 2-7 April 2024.

Categories