British Swimming has announced its Podium and Podium Potential performance squads for 2017. After extensive selection procedures, including an analysis of the athletes’ current and past performances in an effort to ascertain Olympic medal likelihood, a total of 55 athletes are split between two groups. 17 swimmers have been designated ‘Podium’ with 38 designated as ‘Podium Potential’.
The selected swimmers are eligible to receive advanced training camp and competition opportunities, as well as access to world-class sports science and medicine services, and enhanced support from British Swimming performance staff and National Institute of Sport programs across the country. Additionally, athletes will receive targeted financial assistance from UK Sport through the World Class Performance Program’s Athlete Personal Award (APA).
The Podium-level support recognizes those athletes who have the potential to medal in the near-term, while the Podium Potential athletes are those in which a longer-term investment is being made.
The total number this year has decreased from the 2016 edition of the squads, which saw a total of 66 athletes named. 21 of those were ‘Podium’ with 45 designated as ‘Podium Potential.’
Among the notable names listed on the 2016 program that are absent this time around include distance swimmer Keri-Anne Payne, backstroker Lauren Quigley and veterans Liam Tancock and Robbie Renwick.
British Swimming National Performance Director Chris Spice said: “The sport enjoyed a very successful 2016 but we know that our aims and ambitions don’t end there as we now move forward to the 2020 Olympic Games. This year’s investment is going to enable our talented swimmers to continue to achieve their performance targets as they set their sights on Tokyo.
“Our focus on process driven goals supporting our clear medal opportunities has delivered fantastic results in the last three years. This valuable support has helped us to achieve as a team and I’d like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued investment.”
British Swimming’s Head of Elite Development Tim Jones said: “The past year has been great with some strong performances from a number of our young and talented swimmers. As we begin the new quadrennial we have used this opportunity to make some obvious investments into a new generation of athletes with a clear focus on Tokyo and beyond.
“Through membership of the World Class Programme we believe we can help all of our athletes on their journey by providing a comprehensive support package to help further nurture their talent. All swimmers have been set clear personalised outcome and process goal for the coming season, and we will be monitoring more closely than ever the successful completion of these targets.”
Podium Program Athletes
Podium Potential Athletes
The original British Swimming announcement can be found here.