Yorkshire quartet named in GB’s swim team for Paris
FOUR Yorkshire swimmers with contrasting journeys in the sport have been selected by Team GB for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Brothers Max and Joe Litchfield, James Wilby and Leah Crisp form part of the 33-strong swimming squad set to represent Great Britain at the greatest show on earth.
Pool swimming events in the French capital start on July 27 at La Defense Arena, a venue which Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ will visit in mid-May.
The team features five three-time Olympians, seven Olympic champions, nine Olympic medallists and 10 debutants.
Team GB Chef de Mission Mark England said: “Team GB has a proud tradition in Olympic swimming competitions, and I am delighted to welcome all 33 athletes to the team for Paris 2024.
“The strength and depth of our pool swimming team was evident to see at the recent Aquatics GB Swimming Championships. I have no doubt the thrilling races we saw at the British Championships last week will be equally close fought.
“We’re excited to watch them all compete against the best in the world.”
The Litchfield brothers will compete on the same Team GB swimming squad for the second time after both featuring in Tokyo.
Max, 29, pictured, will have a third crack at the Olympic podium after finishing fourth in Rio and Tokyo. Joe claimed a shock 100m butterfly win at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships to plunge his name into individual and medley relay contention.
Glasgow-born and York-raised, Wilby is a discretionary pick after finishing two-hundredths of a second outside the 59.45s qualification time in the 100m breaststroke at the Championships.
Considerations for discretionary picks included potential relay medallists, relay cover, performances at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships and medical mitigations.
Aquatics GB Performance Director Chris Spice said: "This is such an exciting group of athletes that we will be taking to Paris this summer.
"On top of some outstanding individual swims, the collective displays showed that we are in a really good place across multiple relay events, which has been a key focus for us over recent years – and the depth that this team possesses is fantastic.
"We cannot wait to see how this team comes together with the aim of swimming faster in the summer. We know each and every athlete can do that, and that would put us in a very good place in Paris, where we are relishing having packed crowds and plenty of British support roaring us on."
Team GB will field three athletes in open-water swimming events and Wakefield’s Crisp is one of them. She finished 17th in Doha to clinch a quota spot at the summer's Games in just her second season of open water swimming.
Subject to water quality, open-water swimming events will take place in the River Seine, with the women's 10km slated for August 8.
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