Swimmers from Plymouth College have been selected to represent Great Britain in European and World championships.
Former College pupil and Plymouth Leander swimmer, Laura Stephens, has been announced as part of the World Championships GB team heading to Gwangju, South Korea in August following her performance at the British Swimming Championships last week.
The 25-strong British Swimming team boasts a mix of youth and seasoned championship performers, including former College pupils and defending world champions, Ben Proud and Calum Jarvis.
Laura said: “I am really excited to have been selected for the World Championships after my performances at the British Championships. It is great to see the effort I have been putting into training paying off and making big progress in my racing. I am now looking forward to getting back to work and preparing for South Korea, and also racing at the mare nostrum series in June.”
Following in the footsteps of the senior athletes, Plymouth College Year 11 pupil, Honey Osrin, and Year 10 pupil, Sophie Freeman, also displayed excellence at the British Swimming Championships and have been confirmed as part of the GB team travelling to Russia for the European Junior Championships in July. Honey Osrin has also been selected for the World Junior Championships, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary in August.
A strong squad of College and Plymouth Leander athletes competed at the Championships, held in Glasgow from the 16th to the 21st April. The GB teams, both Junior and Senior, are selected from this competition and Plymouth College swimmers put a lot of training, hard work, time and effort in to successfully elevate their performances.
Jonathan Cohen, Headmaster at Plymouth College, said: “It is absolutely fantastic to see such incredible results and consistent excellence from Plymouth College pupils. This emphasises our strong relationship with Plymouth Leander, and our leading swimming programme continues to provide excellent coaching alongside a first-class education. The athletes have worked extremely hard and completely deserve this recognition. Their results are an inspiration for our athletes currently within the College, demonstrating what can be achieved through hard work, determination and the right environment for success.”
The College and Plymouth Leander partnership commenced in September 2001 and the scholarship scheme has welcomed many pupils who have developed into Olympic and World champions, World, European and Commonwealth record holders and ensures regular international selections for Great Britain and home nations’ swim teams.
Robin Armayan, Director of Swimming at Plymouth College and Head Coach at Plymouth Leander, said: “I would like to thank and congratulate all the athletes and staff who have worked extremely hard to make the British Swimming Championships fantastic. It has been a joy to watch the swimmers shining all week and I hope that the younger generations of swimmers will be inspired by our fantastic results.”
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