From Pool to Podium: Making history at the British Swimming Championships
3 British titles, 7 finals appearances, 8 personal bests, 7 University records and a call-up from the GB team – our Swimming Squad made some strong waves at the British Swimming Championships.
10 of our swimmers headed up to Pond Forge, Sheffield, from the 4-9 April 2023 to compete in 19 individual events. The outcome was incredible from the very first day, topping it off with our showstopper Scholar Ollie Morgan who made British history!
Read on for a breakdown of the headline performances from across the week.
DAY ONE
The squad didn’t waste any time, heading straight in with some strong swims. Following promising performances in the heats, scholar and sports coaching student Ollie Morgan gave a showstopper swim, becoming the 2nd fastest male in British history in Men’s 50m Backstroke A final with an incredibly rapid time of 24.84, trimming off 0.23s from the heats. As it stands, this makes Ollie the 5th fastest in the world and only the 3rd ever Brit to go sub -25 seconds in his category!
The last time we saw a triple in Backstroke events was Marco Loughran back in 2007.
Chemistry student and scholar Lucy Cannavan gave an impressive performance, improving from the heats (32.33) to finals (31.98), claiming 5th place in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke A final with a new personal best. Sam Neeld jumped from 19th in the heats to 2nd place in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke priority Paris final with a brilliant time of 1:03.29, also unlocking a new club record and new personal best!
Ollie Morgan. Credit: BUCS Photography
Lucy Cannavan. Credit: BUCS Photography
DAY Two
We saw more University records broken on the second day. Sam made it to the priority Paris finals for the second time, securing first place in the 50m Breaststroke, completing the swim in 28.42 seconds. Ollie saw his second gold medal of the competition, with a 53.92 swim in Men’s 100m Backstroke.
Sam Neeld. Credit: BUCS Photography
DAY SIX
Ollie and Lucy made a splash in their final races, with an exceptional gold finish from Ollie in the Men’s 200m Backstroke ‘A’ Final, and Lucy securing first place in Women’s 100m Breaststroke priority Paris Final. Further University records were broken, raising the bar for our Lions!
Lucy shares how her performance exceeded her expectations at the British Championships:
‘After having 2 PBS at BUCS, I wasn’t really expecting to go much quicker, but to have 2 PBS from champs was a really good achievement.’
The rest of the squad gave an incredible effort and some memorable swims, with Adrian Ting also securing a new personal best for his 50m Butterfly.
Selected to represent Great Britain
With the British Swimming Championships playing a key role in the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in July, Ollie’s powerful performance earned him a well-deserved spot on the GB team. We look forward to seeing him recognised at international level, with the team putting Birmingham firmly on the map!
Ollie reflects on his incredible achievements and selection for the world Championships.
‘Over the moon! Quite speechless, all the hard work we’ve put in has come together and to be selected for my first British team is quite overwhelming, but I am really excited to get out there.’
With this being the team’s 4th successful meet in a row with PB’s lowering consistently across most of the team, Head of Swimming Gary reflects on the teams’ successes.
‘I was really impressed, they kept the momentum going in a high-pressure environment, producing some top-class performances. Training was very focused on each individuals’ events, and it transferred really well to the competition’.
To keep up to date with all the action, make sure to follow the dedicated UoB Swimming Squad account.
Find out more about our 50m swimming pool and how you can get involved!
