World Uni Games Champion Jay Lelliott and European Junior Champion Joe Litchfield are among a 16-strong team selected for the World University Games, in Chinese Taipei 20 – 27 August.
The team hailing from 10 institutions were selected following the British Swimming Championships in Sheffield last month – where seven of them medalled in senior finals.
The team also boasts a current World University Games Champion, from the likes of Bath’s Jay Lelliott, who won gold in 400m freestyle and silver in the 800m freestyle at the World University Games in Gwangju, 2015.European Junior Champion Joe Litchfield is ready for action after winning two golds at the Ontario Junior International Meet and he stood on the podium at the British Championships alongside his brother Max.
University of Glasgow’s Camilla Hattersley competed at last year’s Olympics in Rio, where she finished 15th in the 800m freestyle and 9th in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Also a finalist in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Hattersley was crowned British University Champion in 2017 – taking home 2 x gold at BUCS Nationals in February and a bronze in the 800m at the British Championships.
Fellow Scottish Swimmer Cameron Brodie brings a wealth of experience to the team, having been a finalist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the 200m butterfly where he finished 4th. Brodie, who is studying Sports Management at the University of Stirling, also claimed a silver medal in Glasgow in the 4x200m freestyle relay. After being British Champion in 200m butterfly in 2015, Brodie finished second in his pet event at the recent British Championships.
Rachel Kelly of Loughborough College also competed in Glasgow, making the final for the 100m butterfly finishing 5th. Kelly also competed at the World Championships in Kazan in 2015.
Of the 19 swimmers, seven are currently British University Champions, following BUCS Long Course Championships, held as part of BUCS Nationals in Sheffield in February.
Athletes were selected in alignment with British Swimming’s World Class Swimming programme strategy, which aims to expose young athletes to high level international competitions on their journey towards Tokyo 2020 Olympic selection.
To be eligible, athletes must also be studying towards a degree or diploma at a university or similar institute – or have finished study in the year preceding the Games.
Head Coach Lisa Bates said: “It's a strong selection with some great skilled athletes. The fact that it's quite a mixed team is unique, and will certainly be of benefit to the swimmers and their results. The more experienced athletes selected are very driven competitors and it will be wise for some of the less experienced swimmers to take advantage of and work amongst that senior level.
"World University Games is the second biggest multi event stage compared to the Olympics. This is a great opportunity for athletes to get a similar exposure and experience that they could get at an Olympic Games."
- Lisa Bates - Head Coach
“With this being year one of the Tokyo cycle, it's certainly a great opportunity for those with their sights on Tokyo to understand the process of a multi-event Games and how to deliver within what may be a challenging environment.”
The British Swimming team set to compete at the World University Games in Taipei is as follows:
British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), the national governing body for High Education (HE) sport, is responsible for delivering Great Britain representative teams in the worldwide international university sporting programme.
Over 100 athletes will represent the GB team in 12 sports including: archery, athletics, women’s football, golf, women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, men’s and women’s water polo and weightlifting.
Follow the team selections over the coming months, following the hashtags #WUGSGB and #TargetGREATNESS
For more information visit bucs.org.uk/taipei