British Swimming has today confirmed a team of six marathon swimmers who’ll contest the World Aquatics Championships next month.
With Jack Burnell and Alice Dearing already confirming their places after finishing as first Brits at the opening leg of the 2019 FINA Marathon Swim World Series in Doha in February, the four further swimmers were added after showing strong form throughout 2019.
Joining Burnell and Dearing in the 10km events will be Toby Robinson and Danielle Huskisson, the duo no strangers to major championships, with Robinson having competed at the last edition of these championships in Budapest, whilst this will be Huskisson’s fourth straight Worlds.
Combining in the Mixed 5km Relay in the 2017 championships the duo finished fifth, whilst Stirling based Huskisson will be hoping to crack the top 10 after finishing 11th in the Women’s 10km event at the same meet. For Robinson, it will be a step up from the 5km event he swam two years ago, however ninth place over that longer distance at the European Championships last summer was a great stepping stone.
Also named are Gordon Mason and Maisie Macartney, the young pair having come through the Great Britain junior open water teams and will swim the 5km events in Gwangju, South Korea.
Of the team he has selected, British Swimming Marathon Lead Bernie Dietzig said:
“With the full team named I am very much looking forward to travelling to South Korea next month. The swimmers preparation has been excellent and I am confident that they can finish in the top 10, which is the criteria for Olympic qualification.
“It’s also great to have Maisie and Gordon transferring from the junior ranks into their first senior championship team and I hope to see yet more progress out in the Far East.”
The Olympic disciplines (10km races) will take place on Sunday 14th July (women) and Tuesday 16th July (men) respectively, both in the first week of the 17 day World Aquatics Championships. The open water races will take place at Yeosu Expo Ocean Park.
Full Great Britain team:
Jack Burnell – Men’s 10kmAlice Dearing – Women’s 10km
Tobias Robinson – Men’s 10km
Danielle Huskisson – Women’s 10km
Gordon Mason – Men’s 5km
Maisie Macartney – Women’s 5km