World Para Swimming Championships

SECOND on the medals table, 19 golds and a string of world records – what a World Para Swimming Championships it was for the Great Britain team.

Top level para swimming action returned to the London Aquatics Centre for the first time since the 2012 Paralympics, and the British squad and support staff ensured it was another week of celebration for the home support.

Alice Tai led the way with a magnificent seven gold medals, but the headlines were rightly shared, with the likes of Tully Kearney, Reece Dunn and Brock Whiston all becoming three-time world champions. In total, GB landed 47 medals in the capital, providing the perfect preparation as the countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games really begins.

“From a performance perspective, I’m absolutely delighted with the way the team has performed,” commented Team Leader Chris Furber. “We’ve very much focused on two things. One was the process of making sure we swam hard in the heats and moved those things on in finals and we’ve achieved the goals we set in that area.

“The other was very much ensuring we really rehearsed what we wanted to achieve and what we put in place for Tokyo in terms of the staffing model, how we’ve positioned ourselves and the culture we’ve had as a team. It is exactly what we’ve wanted to practice ahead of Tokyo.

“I’m delighted we’ve come away from these championships with great performances and really grown together as a team over the last days.”

Cultivating that team ethic has been a key aim for British Swimming ahead of Tokyo, as Rob Aubry, Head Coach of British Para-Swimming, explained.

“We are a team when we go away and it’s important for athletes to room-share and understand how they support each other in a room-sharing environment - and for staff to learn the athletes’ needs and support methods that they require on a daily basis,” he said.

“Seeing athletes build lifelong friendships, through football and other activities they do outside of the sport, is also really important. That helps create that team and family feeling for some of the athletes, so when they go away they’ve got the support network within the team.”

British Swimming’s pre-Paralympics training base, at Suzuka Sports Garden, is just a two-hour bullet train ride from the heart of Tokyo. But it won’t be the squad’s first taste of Japanese culture.

Rob continued: “Prior to the World Championships, we took one group of swimmers out to Japan and, while it was a training camp, it was more around understanding the culture and the environment. The staff that we are working with taught the athletes everything, from how to hold chopsticks to what the different local food varieties look like. We really embedded ourselves within that culture which is very important.

“The humidity and environment are very different. Often with big events we get to see the airport, the hotel and the pool – we don’t usually get to see any of the big things when we’re in a different county. So we try to tick a few of those off on the training camps, and when we’re there at the Games there aren’t any distractions. We’re there to compete and do a job.”•

Alice Tai: 7x world champion! Thanks to everyone for all the love and support over the last week, it’s been absolutely crazy! Lots to work on into next season but, for now, I need a rest.

Tully Kearney: So happy with my swims at the @Para_swimming @Allianz World Championships! Three golds, three British records and two championship records, progressed from heats to finals in all events! Thanks everyone for all the support especially @ britishswimming staff! Off for a break in the sun now!

Ellie Simmonds: I am still lost for words! Not only to medal but to break two PBs in a day was beyond anything I could have hoped for. Thank you once again to the amazing crowd and those watching on @Channel4 @C4Paralympics who gave all us athletes a week to remember!