Proud secures his place in GB Olympic squad

PLYMOUTH swimmer Ben Proud secured his place at the summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo by posting an impressive time at last week’s British Swimming Selection Trials, writes Stuart James.

The 26-year-old completed the 50 metre freestyle event in a time that would have won him a silver medal in the 2019 World Championships.

He will now join the four preselected swimmers - Adam Peaty, Duncan Scott, James Wilby and Luke Greenbank, who were named back in January, along with 23 others on the plane to Tokyo.

Team GB Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Mark England, commented: “In the space of less than a week we have seen the number of Team GB athletes selected for Tokyo jump from 40 to 70, which is incredibly exciting and demonstrates just how much the momentum is growing as we edge closer to 23rd July.

“The quality of this team is exceptionally high and the recent selection trials illustrated how dedicated each swimmer has been to earning their selection for Tokyo throughout what has undoubtedly been a very challenging period. Congratulations to everyone and we look forward to watching you all in action in Tokyo.”

Speaking of the quality of the team selected to travel to Japan, British Swimming Performance Director and Swimming Team Leader for Tokyo, Chris Spice, said: “What an amazing week of racing we just witnessed at the iconic London Aquatic Centre. We had several stand out performances and personal bests at every turn. We have over 40% athletes on the team that were not with us at our last World Championships in 2019 which demonstrates the outstanding work coaches and support staff across Britain have done keeping these athletes training to the highest of levels in very challenging circumstances during the last 18 months.

“Of course, our work has only just begun and we now turn our attention to swimming faster in the summer which I know every athlete on this team is capable of. If we do this I am sure we can have a successful Tokyo Games.”