Great Britain’s junior swimmers are completing their preparations out in Belgrade ahead of the European Junior Swimming Championships, which run from 4th-9th July
The 34-strong group of athletes are set to compete with Europe’s best juniors at Milan Gale Muškatirović this week, as they look to build on the 11 medals they picked up at last year’s edition of the annual event in Otopeni, Romania and gain valuable race experience and crucial know-how within the arena environment.
Among those racing, there is experience from beyond last year’s event, with three-time medallist from the 2021 competition Eva Okaro returning to the Great Britain junior fold and targeting success in the Women’s 50m & 100m Freestyle respectively, while 1500m Freestyle British champion Amelie Blocksidge is gearing up for her debut at this level. The 2009-born athlete is competing in both the 800m and 1500m events as she looks to make a mark over distance.
The boys’ backstroke is also an event which will be watched
with great interest from a British perspective, as Matthew Ward goes in as a high seed for both the Men’s 50m & 100m Backstroke, with last year’s 4x100m
Medley Relay gold medallist also down for the 200m Backstroke on the start lists.
Blythe Kinsman is another British athlete who will be looking to make a mark on the backstroke in the Women's 50m contest, with compatriots Evie Dilley and Holly McGill in contention in the 200m contest among their events.
Oscar Bilbao, who won gold in both the Men’s 100m and 200m Breaststroke at the European Youth Olympic Festival last year, lines up in both of those at European Junior Championship level this time around, with Olivier Vedrenne and Callum Melville also flying the flag for British junior breaststroke in those races. Sienna Robinson, meanwhile, will be keen to build on the experience she gained at last year's European Juniors in the girls' breaststroke contests.
Lucy Fox and Reuben Rowbotham-Keating are two of the British athletes who go in their respective 200m Butterfly events as the top eight fastest seeds, with Ward returning alongside Edward Marcal Whittles for the Men’s 200m and 400m Individual Medley, with the pair seeded highly in their respective fields.
Leah Schlosshan, the Women’s 200m Individual Medley champion from last year’s edition of the competition (top image), returns to the competition to defend her title as the fastest seed in the event. Phoebe Cooper is also set for the event in fifth, as well as featuring in the 400m distance.
The 4x100m Freestyle, 4x200m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley relays are all also on the agenda for the British team, with the potential for mixed relays and charges from other athletes not out of the question for what is always a high-intensity showing of junior prowess.
All results and start lists from Belgrade are available via the LEN website.
Livestream coverage of every session is also available to ensure you do not miss a minute of the action.