A Big Week of Racing at British Trials

The thrill of the 2022 British Swimming Championships has drawn to a close in Sheffield. The Ponds Forge International Sports Centre played host to Olympic stars and keen youngsters on the rise, including many of our own F-Teamers. The 6-day competition showcased moments of pure brilliance, some grueling battles, and hints of heartache for those close to team selection. The meet played a role in the process for qualification onto the Budapest World Championships among other 2022 competitions for Britain’s best, and the hype didn’t disappoint.

It's hard to believe Olympian Jacob Whittle is only 17 with all that he has accomplished so far in the pool. With a blistering 48.24 at the British Champs, he now holds the British Age Group records for the 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 years age groups in the 100m Freestyle. Hitting the wall 3rd in a world-class field, it was the renowned Duncan Scott’s age record that he broke. This result puts him in consideration for the Worlds 4x100m Freestyle relay and the individual swim at the Commonwealth Games for Team England.

Scott Gibson continued his stellar run of form at the Champs, peaking at the right time, despite having just recovered from Covid. He collected the silver in the 50m Backstroke, but claimed the British Championship title due to the first place finisher being a guest swimmer. His time of 25.30 was under the consideration time for Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games so he is now awaiting team selection. Joe Small wasn’t too far behind, finishing 4th in the 50m Backstroke. Like Scott, Joe was upgraded to 3rd and therefore won his first British Championship medal.

Medals were won and barriers were broken in Sheffield even with many swimming untapered. Jakob Goodman won bronze in the 200m Butterfly, breaking the 2-minute barrier for the first time in the process. He also won the B final in the 200m Freestyle. The A final consisted of 8 Olympians, including the entire gold medal winning 4 x200m Freestyle team from Tokyo. He finished in a time of 1:49.35, a personal best time, with Jacob Whittle finishing 2nd in the B final.

With the British Champs now complete, our F-Teamers are awaiting the team announcement for Worlds so they can plan the rest of 2022 accordingly. It's looking like a very exciting and jam-packed year looms for our F-Teamers. Check back here and on our socials for team announcements. @funkytrunks and @funkytrunks_uk