Seven up-and-coming British athletes will travel to Barcelona later this month for the final leg of the LEN Open Water Cup.
The event takes place on 24th September and will
be the last leg of a series which has given marathon swimmers a prime
opportunity to compete at a high level on a regular basis.
The young team features a mix of junior internationals and those who have earned their first taste of senior experience in recent months, as well as some who are making their debuts at this level for the first time.
The selections for the team took place following the Swim Wales Challenge Series Open Water meet, which saw a number of impressive performances, with the target for the Barcelona event being to provide international competition experience for athletes on a trajectory for marathon podium performance at Paris 2024, Los Angeles 2028 and beyond.
Four of the seven swimmers involved in the upcoming event were also in action at the fourth round of the LEN Open Water Cup in Serbia in July, the quartet of Joseph Deighan, Kennedy Denby, Livia Kingsland and Fleur Lewis all producing top seven finishes - including a bronze medal for Joseph - which they will hope to build on once the racing begins in a few weeks’ time.
Deighan, Denby and Lewis also recently took part in the European Championships in Rome, which gave them valuable experience for further competitions. The Barcelona-bound cohort are completed by Madison Emment, Harry Hewitt and James Raw.
Speaking on the selection, British Swimming’s Performance Pathway and Distance Lead for Olympic Swimming Kevin Renshaw was full of optimism ahead of the event.
"Our Barcelona LEN Open Water Cup team is a good mix of up-and-coming swimmers alongside those who have already started performing on the international stage. It's an important competition for us as it allows for each athlete to test themselves at a time so early in the season," he said.
"The senior swimmers have had a very busy summer and this is the first opportunity for the juniors to test themselves in a senior LEN Cup race. It will be a fantastic learning opportunity and we are looking for great attitude and awareness in their racing with the focus being on how they go about their business at this level."
British Swimming marathon swimming team for the LEN Open Water Cup leg in Barcelona (24th September):
Joseph Deighan – Swansea University
Kennedy Denby – City of Leeds
Madison Emment – Guildford City
Harry Hewitt – Millfield
Livia Kingsland – Nova Centurion
Fleur Lewis – Barnet Copthall
James Raw – City of Leicester