Leah Schlosshan and Phoebe Cooper secured a 1-2 finish on the final night as Great Britain’s junior athletes amassed a total of eleven medals across six days of high-quality competition at the 2023 European Junior Swimming Championships.
The duo had different stories throughout the Women’s 200m Individual Medley final in Belgrade, with Schlosshan taking the race out following a strong fly length from the 18 year-old, while Cooper returned the favour when the race reached the halfway stage.
It was the breaststroke leg where the race really opened up - Schlosshan’s notable edge in the stroke holding true and placing the athlete almost two seconds ahead of the field as the race came to the 150 metre mark, before the freestyle finish saw the two Brits break ahead of the pack together and touch comfortably for the top steps of the podium.
Schlosshan’s time of 2:12.41 is a new championship record in the event, as well as the result making her a double 200m Individual Medley European junior champion following her win at last year’s competition in Romania.
Speaking to LEN following the race, Schlosshan was happy with her performance.
"I am really happy I was able to defend my title from last year. It's just a tiny bit off my best time, but I'm happy with the swim, this result show that my training is consistent. The Olympics are next year, so I will continue my training and see what I am able to do next year."
![Matthew Ward Belgrade 2023 [István Derencsény/LEN]](https://www.aquaticsgb.com/media/images/185A7782-Matthew_Ward_Bronze.width-300.jpg)
Meanwhile Matthew Ward took his third individual medal of the competition on the final day, adding bronze in a tight Men’s 100m Backstroke final to his 50m Backstroke and 200m Individual Medley medals from earlier in the week.
With Ward's further inclusion in a British Mixed 4x100m Medley relay silver medal, the achievement makes Ward one of the most successful British athletes over the six days – a feat which he will look to build on as he moves into the next stage of his career.
That Mixed Medley Relay medal was one of two medals won by the team on day four, following an impressive six medal haul through the first half of the meet, as the team of Ward and Cooper joined up with Oscar Bilbao and Skye Carter to come out with the silver medal in what was a close finish with eventual bronze medallists Italy. Jessica Lawton and Adam Graham also awarded a medal for their contributing legs to the team in the qualification heats.
Holly McGill also took a memorable silver medal in the Women’s 200m Backstroke final, the 2005-born athlete getting the better of third and fourth place to touch the wall in second, with all three athletes separated by just over three tenths of a second.
Can anything stop 🇬🇧 in Serbia?
— Nick Hope - the athlete’s journalist (@NickHopeTV) July 8, 2023
Not yet! Two further medals for the @britishswimming rising ⭐️’s on day 4 of #LENEJSC2023 in Belgrade!
🥈 @HollyMcGill13 - 200m back
🥈 Matthew Ward, Oscar Bilbao, Pheobe Cooper & Skye Carter - mixed 4x100m medley relay 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1H04z5OcgO
“It was my first time being out in an international competition [with British Swimming], so it was great to be up there and taking it all in – it was a great experience.
“It means everything [to medal]. Last year’s fourth was a bit disappointing so this year makes all the training worth it. Having that experience of being at the Commonwealth Games was huge for me. It made me more mentally ready and allowed me to enjoy it a bit more.”
British Swimming's Head of Performance Development, Alan Lynn, gave his thoughts on how the group fared as the attention turns to July's senior World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, with some of the team also set to compete at the European U23 Championships in Dublin the following month.
“In exacting conditions of heat and humidity we can be reasonably pleased with 11 medals from the team.
“Very similar to last year, Italy and Hungary proved to be the leading nations challenging for the team trophy, however our medal count is a representative benchmark of where we currently are at Junior level. A number of individuals significantly impressed with their racing outcomes, making the podium several times, and it was positive to see how several of our relay teams were highly competitive."
For the full results from the LEN European Junior Swimming Championships in Belgrade, click here.