Defending champions and debutant all set for FINA World Swimming Champs in Budapest
Four defending champions will be among the University of Bath-based swimmers competing at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary next week.
James Guy, Calum Jarvis, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Chris Walker-Hebborn of the British Swimming National Centre Bath will all be hoping to repeat their golden achievements from the 2015 Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Thomas Tsiopanis, who recently graduated in Sports Performance and is supported by a Santander Sports Scholarship, will make his World Championships debut for Cyprus in Budapest.
Guy has been in excellent form since moving his training base to the University in January, winning four British titles and producing strong performances in Japan. Monaco and Italy.
The double Rio 2016 Olympic medallist won gold in both the 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay two years ago and is hoping for a repeat performance next week.
“My aim is to do the best that I can and, with the great preparation I’ve had, I’m confident I can achieve that,” said Guy, who is coached by Jol Finck.
“I am the current World Champion in the 200m freestyle and I will give my absolute everything in pursuit of my goals. There are no easy World Championships but this one is going to be especially tough with the likes of Sun Yang, Mack Horton, Chad le Clos and the US guys – it’s going to be interesting.
“I’m really pleased with the way I’ve been going in terms of my racing this season. I’m in a good place, I’ve been training really well and the performances have been where I want them to be. It’s all pointing towards doing a good job this summer.”
Sports Performance graduate Jarvis won 4x200m freestyle relay gold alongside Guy in Kazan and will return to the big stage after illness disrupted his chances of appearing at Rio 2016
Both O’Connor and Walker-Hebborn – coached by Dave McNulty – won silver medals at the Olympic Games last year and are defending world champions in the mixed 4x100m medley relay (pictured top), a non-Olympic event.
O’Connor will also be looking to improve on her 200m individual medley bronze medal from two years ago, while Walker-Hebborn will once again contest the backstroke in his fifth successive World Championships.
Experiencing the event for the first time will be Tsiopanis, coached by Mark Skimming, who has previously represented his native Cyprus at the World University Games and the Games of the Small States of Europe. He will race in the 200m individual medley.
