Peters Chases Olympic Dream

British swimmer and Funky Trunks swimmer, Jacob Peters has his eyes set on another British Record as he prepares for the British Olympic Trials in April, in the hope of earning a ticket to Paris in the European summer.

The F-Teamer will take to the pool at the London Aquatics Centre between 2-7 April, aiming to earn his second Olympic cap. 2024 is a huge year for swimming, with the pinnacle at the end of July in Paris. After making his Olympic debut at the Tokyo 202One Games, Peters is ensuring he focuses on making the Great Britain team before dreaming of becoming a two-time Olympian.

“Step one for me is obviously to qualify because you've got up-and-comers, it's an Olympic year, people come out of absolutely nowhere. This year is the year that everyone just steps it up a gear and gives it their all. So, it's not confirmed that I'll be in Paris yet! My target for Trials is that I want to get as close to that British record as possible. I think I've got it in me.

“It's just kind of seeing what I've got come Trials and then just moving on to Paris. If I'm where I know I can be at Trials, and if I move on at the Olympics, it puts me in a medal contention spot for Paris.

“Anything can happen, but I'm not looking too far ahead yet. I still have a job to do in April, and we'll take it from there."

Peters has set himself up well for Trials, ending 2023 on a high securing a silver and a bronze medal at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, in December. Whilst his silver came in the men’s 4x50m medley relay, the butterfly swimmer’s bronze was his first senior individual international medal, in the men’s 100m butterfly with 49.98.

“It was my first ever individual medal. I've won medals before as part of relay teams, but that was the first time I've ever stood on the podium by myself. When you stand up there as part of a team, it's amazing and when you get the medal, even if you're a heat swimmer, it's still a good feeling to know that you are part of that team. But because it was my first individual medal, it was obviously special to me.”

The GB international also broke a British record in Romania, taking out Ben Proud’s previous mark in the 50m butterfly, in a time of 22.10.

Whilst Peters is proud of his achievements at European Champs, he doesn’t want his momentum to stop there.

“Breaking Ben Proud's British record on top of that, an amazing guy to take it from like - he has a legacy, bigger than most in the sprinting world. Hopefully, I can just get some long course ones soon.”

The 23-year-old’s journey to the highest level of the sport has had its ups and downs, but he is now reaping the rewards of all his hard work. The F-Teamer arrived on the senior international scene in 2018 at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and has appeared at the European and World Championships, as well as the Olympics, in the years that have followed.

“It's been an incredible journey; I've loved every part of it,” said Peters.

“It's been a steady build. Last year was kind of my first year where I really did well. I made a World Championship final, coming fourth in the 50m fly. Before that, I think it's just been getting a little bit faster every year, and getting more experience.

“I'm finally ready to try and really take that next step and show the world what I can do. Hopefully, I can challenge for those medal positions internationally.”

Before Peters burst onto the senior international scene, he shone on the National Junior scene in the UK. At 16, the Poole-born athlete made a splash at British nationals, securing three gold medals in the 50m,100m, and 200m Butterfly. This moment proved a turning point in his career and showed him that a professional career in the sport was a possibility.

“It was the moment that I realised I could take it more seriously, when I got three gold medals in my three fly events at Nationals. At that point, I was doing something because I enjoyed it. I enjoyed working hard and pushing myself, I enjoyed the certain family that you get when you're a swimmer.

“When I'd started making senior teams, I realised the potential, but I still didn't realise think of it as a career.”

As he started to rack up the senior international appearances, Peters' life started to change.

“There's thinking of it as a career and then there's actually using it as a career,” he continued.

“When I moved to Bath and the lifestyle changes, the performance lifestyle - your whole life kind of shifts to support swimming as a career. That's probably when I first started training and living also like it was going to be a career.”

Peters has been a Funky Trunks athlete for nearly nine years, and we love supporting him on his journey.

As Peters puts it, “They give a lot of kit out, which to a young swimmer is like gold dust - you need the kit to be able to swim.

You can see JP in the latest Up The Ante collection from Funky Trunks. We're exciting to see him up the ante this year. Go JP!

About the author

Harry Bamforth is a former swimmer based in Birmingham who is now a sports journalist reporting on the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Premier League and EFL football.