After third gold medal, we reveal secrets that have led to Britain’s swimming success

Performance hubs and lottery funding

There is no escaping a correlation between funding and sporting excellence but the 25 years after Atlanta, which signalled the start of a new era of athlete backing, stand as a stark reminder that you need rather more than full-time athletes and coaches.

Especially in sports such as swimming and athletics, where the global reach, competition and strength of the American college system are so significant. Most sports face considerable internal debate about the respective benefits of a central base – as was the model of British Cycling – or more of a fluid system which allows athletes to work with autonomy alongside individual coaches all around the world.

Swimming has evolved into something of a hybrid, with national training centres in Bath and Loughborough, as well as high-performance centres in Stirling and Swansea. Both national centres, which crucially could be accessed during lockdown, have produced at least one gold medallist at these Games and plenty of other encouraging performances. The centres all go by the mantra, “One Team, Winning Well, In Water”. Tom Dean, who moved to Bath three years before winning his two gold medals, said: “I’ve seen everyone get stronger. The national centres are much more united. It’s less individual and feels a bit more of a team.”

Team culture

To understand the authenticity of the all-for-one mentality of the GB team, you only had to see James Guy’s tearful reaction to Dean’s 200metres freestyle gold medal. “I felt like I was swimming with him – that’s why I was so emotional,” said Guy, despite missing out on a place in the same event.

Jacob Whittle, 16, who made the semi-final of the 100m freestyle, felt he was competing as part of a team rather than simply an individual. “They really support the juniors and treat everyone the same whether you have been to three Olympics or it is your first one,” he said. “All the other swimmers are willing to help you. If people are not racing they are in the stands supporting you. It’s life experiences as well as in the pool.”

Dean says that he has never been in a team where people push each other so much. “It’s almost an expectation to bring home international medals now,” he said.

The Peaty factor

Most great sporting talent factories start with a pioneering figure. In British swimming, this role has been filled by Adam Peaty. It is not just his utter dominance that has so influenced the rest of the team, but the way that success has been achieved.

Peaty says his “dying philosophy” is that no one will work harder and, once they start training with him, even most elite swimmers reappraise their own approach. “You can see our youngsters watching how he trains,” said Chris Spicer, British Swimming’s performance director. “He is a leader in more ways than just swimming fast.”

“Adam getting gold set the team off,” said Abbie Wood, who finished fourth in the 200m individual medley. Dean also stressed Peaty’s influence and added: “It’s no longer just the Peaty show – we are bringing home medals in other events.”

Coaching excellence

It was noticeable on Tuesday that Siobhan-marie O’connor, who was forced to retire in June due to persistent illness, should think immediately of coach David Mcnulty when Dean triumphed.

“The greatest British coach of all time,” said O’connor. “He has produced seven Olympic medallists over the past four Olympic Games.” Under the leadership of Spicer, British Swimming does appear to have assembled an exceptional group of coaches. Mcnulty is hugely popular and then there is Mel Marshall, Peaty’s long-time coach but now also working with a growing group of young Olympians in Loughborough which includes Whittle, Luke Greenbank, Anna Hopkin and Sarah Vasey. Marshall used to coach 500 swimmers a week of all abilities, but now focuses on her elite group. Expect more champions to emerge.

Patience

The delay for the pandemic appears to have aided GB’S swimmers. Dean has made an improvement of almost two seconds in the 200m freestyle since last year and, at the age of 18, an extra 12 months was clearly vital to Matthew Richards, who swam an outstanding third leg in the 4x 200m freestyle relay. “This is just the very beginning,” he said. “This team has got so much potential – the youngsters that are coming up are so exciting and the knowledge and experience of the older guys filtering down is phenomenal.” Wood, Hopkin, Whittle, Freya Anderson and Kathleen Dawson are among the other young swimmers who have improved over the past year.

“Potentially one of two wouldn’t have been quite where they would have liked to be – it’s been a massive benefit to have the extra year,” Hopkin said.