Coinciding with 100 days to go to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, ParalympicsGB named a 26-strong Para swimming team on Monday (21st), including four Scottish athletes.
The four Scots that made the team include Stephen Clegg, Toni Shaw, Louis Lawlor and Faye Rogers.
Paris 2024 marks a third consecutive Games for Stephen, whereas it’s a second Paralympics for both Toni and Louis. Despite being her debut Paralympics, Faye goes into Paris as current world champion following her success at Manchester 2023.
“I am so excited to be selected for my first Paralympics,” said Faye following the announcement.
“The last 3 years have been absolutely crazy so to end up here is just an amazing feeling. Bring on Paris!!”
Multiple Paralympic medallists, Stephen Clegg and Rebecca Redfern, alongside Rio 2016 gold medallist Alice Tai, rank as some of the more experienced heads lining up within a talented team.
Tokyo Paralympians Ellie Challis, Louise Fiddes, Grace Harvey, Suzanna Hext, Louis Lawlor and Toni Shaw complete the roster of athletes with prior Games experience – with Challis, Fiddes, Harvey and Shaw all having reached the podium three years ago at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games which yielded a phenomenal 26 medals for ParalympicsGB in the pool.
Of the 15 debutants set to write their own chapter of Paralympic history in front of packed stands in Paris, William Ellard, Poppy Maskill and Faye Rogers do so as world champions following their successes at Manchester 2023 – with Rhys Darbey, Scarlett Humphrey, Cameron Vearncombe and Brock Whiston further members of the British team that competed at the home World Championships last summer heading for their first Paralympic Games in 100 days’ time. Scarlett will be joined in Paris by her identical twin sister Eliza Humphrey where they will be racing against each other in a number of events.
Iona Winnifrith is the youngest member of the swimming cohort selected for Paris 2024, with the 13-year-old having built upon impressive performances at April’s Aquatics GB Swimming Championships at the London Aquatics Centre, by racing to two European titles later last month in Madeira.
Olivia Newman-Baronius, Callie Ann-Warrington, Mark Tompsett and Harry Stewart equally all claimed European titles at their first senior international championships appearance in April, with Bruce Dee and Megan Neave additionally achieving podium finishes in Madeira as they now prepare to compete on the sport’s greatest stage this summer.
Double Paralympic champion, Maisie Summers-Newton said: “It’s an amazing feeling to be selected for a second Paralympic Games.
“I achieved my dream three years ago in Tokyo, and defending my titles is definitely the ambition, but without putting too much pressure on myself the focus is on enjoying my racing and delivering my own best performance – to be able to do that in front of family and friends this summer will be all the more special.”
ParalympicsGB Chef de Mission Penny Briscoe said: “I’m delighted that today, with exactly 100 days to go to this summer’s Paralympic Games, we can celebrate the first athletes to join the ParalympicsGB team for Paris 2024 – our swimming squad.
“Our 26 swimmers represent an exciting mix of youth and experience, and there’s no doubt they all have fantastic potential to make Great Britain proud in Paris this summer. I’m really excited to see the ParalympicsGB team start to take shape and look forward to welcoming athletes from all corners of the UK, across 19 sports in total, in the coming weeks and months.”
Aquatics GB Associate Performance Director Tim Jones said: “I’m delighted that ParalympicsGB are now announcing these 26 swimmers to compete in the swimming events in Paris in 100 days’ time.
“Our athlete cohort has evolved significantly since the Tokyo Games, and with 15 first-time Paralympians on the team, we know we have great potential to be very successful in Paris. Amongst our more experienced team members we’ve also seen some positive performance developments across this cycle to build on results from the past. We travel to the Games with a high-quality group of well-supported swimmers from a diverse range of training locations, which is testament to the hard work and commitment from a large number of clubs and their coaches.
“With the team now unveiled, we will forge ahead in the coming months with the comprehensive plans we have put in place for this important pre-Games preparation phase, and I have every confidence we will arrive in Paris ready to deliver our best possible performance.”
A total of around 230 athletes from 19 sports to are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Paris, with further names to be announced by ParalympicsGB in the next few weeks.
At Tokyo 2020 ParalympicsGB won medals across a record breaking 18 different sports – the highest number of any nation ever. ParalympicsGB finished second on the medal table with 124 medals overall, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze.
ParalympicsGB Swimming squad:
Ellie Challis, Manchester Performance Centre (S3/SB2/SM3)
Stephen Clegg, University of Edinburgh (S12/SB12/SM12)
Rhys Darbey, Nofio Clwyd (S14/SB14/SM14)
Bruce Dee, Northampton SC (S6/SB6/SM6)
William Ellard, St Felix Swimming Club (S14/SB14/SM14)
Louise Fiddes, Hatfield SC (S14/SB14/SM14)
Grace Harvey, Manchester Performance Centre (S6/SB5/SM6)
Suzanna Hext, Tigersharks A.S.C. (S5/SB4/SM5)
Eliza Humphrey, Northampton SC (S11/SB11/SM11)
Scarlett Humphrey, Northampton SC (S11/SB11/SM11)
Tully Kearney, Loughborough University (S5/SB5/SM5)
Louis Lawlor, City of Glasgow ST (S14/SB14/SM14)
Poppy Maskill, Manchester Performance Centre (S14/SB14/SM14)
Olivia Newman-Baronius, Maxwell Swim Club (S14/SB14/SM14)
Megan Neave, Repton Swimming (S14/SB14/SM14)
Rebecca Redfern, Worcester SC (S13/SB13/SM13)
Faye Rogers, University of Aberdeen Performance (S10/SB10/SM10)
Toni Shaw, University of Aberdeen Performance (S9/SB9/SM9)
Harry Stewart, Plymouth Leander SC (S14/SB14/SM14)
Maisie Summers-Newton, Northampton SC (S6/SB6/SM6)
Alice Tai, Ealing SC (S8, SB8, SM8)
Mark Tompsett, Bolton Metro SS (S14/SB14/SM14)
Cameron Vearncombe, Manchester Performance Centre (S14/SB14/SM14)
Callie-Ann Warrington, RTW Monson SC (S10/SB10/SM10)
Brock Whiston, Barking and Dagenham/London Disability SC (S8, SB8, SM8)
Iona Winnifrith, Tonbridge SC (S7/SB7/SM7)