Para-Swimming Nominees

Para-Swimming Athlete of the Year

2024 Shortlist: Stephen Clegg, Poppy Maskill, Maisie Summers-Newton and Alice Tai

Stephen Clegg

University of Edinburgh

La Défense Arena was the site of a personal ‘redemption’ for Stephen Clegg as he became a double Paralympic Champion at the Paris 2024 Games.

As an experienced member of the British team – one of only two British swimmers competing at their third Paralympic Games – Clegg emphatically stormed to the Men’s S12 100m Backstroke gold in a new world record time in his first event, while he contributed the anchor leg to a British record performance by the Mixed 49pts 4x100m Freestyle relay quartet just hours after narrowly placing out of the podium places in the Men’s S12 100m Freestyle individual.

The curtain call moment of Great Britain’s historic summer in the pool fell to the Mat Trodden-coached man, as he avenged being touch out for the Men’s S12 100m Butterfly title in Tokyo three year ago, with victory etching the 18th gold into the team’s overall medal tally in Paris.

Poppy Maskill

Aquatics GB Performance Centre Manchester

Poppy Maskill was in flourishing form on her Paralympic debut campaign, finishing the Paris 2024 Games as ParalympicsGB’s most decorated athlete and awarded the opportunity to be Great Britain’s closing ceremony flagbearer.

The 2022 Emerging Athlete of the year winner has again pushed her performances to new heights in the last 12 months, and began her Paralympic medal haul of three golds and two silvers with a world record paced victory in the Women’s S14 100m Butterfly. Playing her part in maintaining Britain’s stronghold on Mixed S14 4x100m Freestyle titles across the global championships, in addition to a sterling swim in the Women’s S14 100m Backstroke added golds number two and three to Maskill’s account - while the Aled Davies-coached athlete added further silverware to her credentials with a place on the second rung of the podium in the Women’s S14 200m Freestyle and SM14 200m Individual Medley events.

Maisie Summers-Newton

Northampton Swimming Club

Maisie Summers-Newton achieved the feat of a historic double-double at Paris 2024, as she reclaimed her Paralympic titles in front of the 15,000 cheering spectators inside the La Défense Arena.

Unbeaten in the Women’s SM6 200m Individual Medley since her maiden European title in 2018, Summers-Newton continued her dynasty in the event by lowering her world record at the 2024 Berlin World Series ahead of reclaiming the Paralympic crown. The Andy Sharp-coached swimmer chipped away at her own European record on the way to Women’s SB6 100m Breaststroke gold too, before rounding out her Paris programme with bronze in the Women’s S6 400m Freestyle as further proof of her consistency on the biggest of stages.

Alice Tai

Ealing SC

Alice Tai delivered an outstanding return of five medals from five events at Paris 2024 – taking two golds, one silver and two bronze across a busy Paralympic swimming programme.

Sealing a maiden individual Paralympic title in the Women’s S8 100m Backstroke – and setting a new Paralympic record time in the process – provided a golden start to Tai’s time in Paris. The David Heathcock-coached swimmer was quick to back that up and achieved her second gold of the Games in the Women’s S8 50m Freestyle, while further cementing her name on the world’s biggest stage with silver in the Women’s S8 400m Freestyle, and a pair of bronzes in the Women’s SM8 200m Individual Medley and S8 100m Butterfly.

Para-Swimming Emerging Athlete of the Year

2024 Shortlist: William Ellard, Mark Tompsett and Iona Winnifrith

William Ellard

St. Felix Swimming Club

2024 has been a medal-laden season for William Ellard, with performances at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships earning his call up to a brilliant debut Paralympic Games.

In Paris, Ellard made a flying start with his silver in the Men’s S14 100m Butterfly the first British medal on the board from the pool, while the Nicholas Thomson-coached swimmer then sliced over a second off the Men’s S14 200m Freestyle world record mark he’d equalled in London to earn his first Paralympic gold. Leading off the Mixed S14 4x100m Freestyle delivered a second Paralympic title for Ellard who also raced well in the Men’s S14 100m Backstroke (4th) and SM14 200m Individual Medley (5th) finals.

Prior to the Games, Ellard picked up two gold (S14 200m Freestyle and S14 100m Butterfly), a silver (S14 100m Backstroke) and a bronze (SM14 200m Individual Medley) at the European Championships in Madeira.

Mark Tompsett

Bolton Metro

A breakthrough year for Mark Tompsett saw the Ric Howard-coached athlete set new British records and stand upon the podium on the both Paralympic and continental stage.

With multi-classification bronze medals at both the Aberdeen World Series and Aquatics GB Swimming Championships under his belt, Tompsett’s gold medal performance at the Madeira 2024 Para Swimming European Championships served up a new British record in the Men’s S14 100m Backstroke. Peaking for the Paralympic Games, Tompsett further broke his own record in the heats in Paris before a near identical time in the final secured him a bronze medal on his debut.

Since the Games, Tompsett has been actively involved in social impact projects in his community – including supporting the ChangeMakers event in Manchester, in addition to making multiple visits to schools and clubs.

Iona Winnifrith

Tonbridge Swimming Club

At just 13 years old, Iona Winnifrith was the youngest member of ParalympicsGB’s athlete cohort in Paris, and returned from her debut Games a Paralympic silver medallist.

Growing in experience throughout the season, Winnifirth had success at the Italy World Series and Aquatics GB Swimming Championships before claiming her first major honours at the Para Swimming European Championships – with gold in both the Women’s SB7 100m Breaststroke and SM7 200m Individual medley, in addition to a bronze in the S7 50m Butterfly.

On the sport’s biggest stage she then bettered her own British record to claim Women’s SB7 100m Breaststroke silver in Paris, while just narrowly missing out on a medley medal as the Michael Ellis-coached swimmer posted a new European record time in finishing fourth.

Para-Swimming Coach of the Year

2024 Shortlist: David Heathcock, Andy Sharp and Mat Trodden

David Heathcock

Ealing Swimming Club

Under David Heathcock’s guidance, Alice Tai has risen to the top of the Paralympic podium - achieving two golds, a silver and two bronze medal haul in Paris.

Within the integrated programme at Ealing Swimming Club, Heathcock has supported Tai in refining technical elements of her racing skills following a 2022 below-knee amputation, with the fruition of that close working relationship witnessed in seeing Tai win a first set of individual Paralympic titles this summer. Golds in the Women’s S8 100m Backstroke and S8 50m Freestyle were backed up by a silver in the Women’s S8 400m Freestyle, and a bronzes in the Women’s SM8 200m Individual Medley and S8 100m Butterfly in an action packed schedule of racing.

Andy Sharp

Northampton Swimming Club

A quartet of Andy Sharp’s Northampton Swimming Club-stable made their mark on the Paralympic stage in 2024, with Maisie Summers-Newton the standout as she retained her Women’s SM6 200m Individual Medley and SB6 100m Breaststroke titles in Paris in emphatic fashion – while adding a bronze for good measure in the S6 400m Freestyle.

Overseeing the burgeoning development of Bruce Dee, Eliza Humphrey and Scarlett Humphrey across the season, Andy’s Paralympic debutants made a combined nine finals between them, with Bruce and Scarlett both setting new British records and Eliza lowering lifetime bests in performances on the sport biggest stage.

Mat Trodden

Edinburgh University

Mat Trodden has been a key figure in the corner of Stephen Clegg, as the University of Edinburgh swimmer prepared for his double Paralympic gold medal campaign.

Under Mat’s tutelage, Stephen has further bolstered his credentials as a versatile threat across multiple strokes. The Men’s S12 100m Backstroke world record Clegg set in claiming the Paralympic title in Paris was over a second quicker than his 2023 world title swim, while he displayed the arsenal of his 100m Freestyle twice on the same night - individually and as part of the Mixed 49pts relay - before closing out his programme with the Men’s S12 100m Butterfly gold to crown a sensational Games.