2026 AQUATICS GB NEXT GEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Thursday, July 16th – Wednesday, July 22nd
- Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield, England
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- Recap #1
- Live Results
- Livestream
The 2026 Aquatics GB Next Gen Championships concluded last night from the storied Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield.
Among the impressive performances across multiple age groups was a pair of speedy swims at the hands of Scarborough’s Kieran Grant.
Already a breakout swimmer from the Aquatics GB Championships earlier this year, 21-year-old Grant soared to the top of the Next Gen podium in both the men’s 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly, registering new personal bests in each.
In the former, Grant stopped the clock at a time of 21.89 for the gold.
That represented his first-ever foray under the 22-second barrier, with his performance, as well as his prelims swim of 22.16, overtaking his former career-quickest outing of 22.31 from April.
Grant now becomes Great Britain’s 4th-fastest 50m freestyler of all time in a mark which would have placed 4th at the 2024 European Championships.
Top 5 British 50m Freestylers of All Time
- Ben Proud – 21.11, 2018
- Lewis Burras – 21.68, 2022
- Matt Richards – 21.83, 2024
- Kieran Grant – 21.89, 2026
- Alex Cohoon – 21.90, 2024
The 50m fly also fell victim to Grant, with the Scarborough athlete turning in a speedy performance of 23.09, a time which would have garnered him the gold at the 2024 European Championships.
That shaved .15 off his former PB of 23.24 posted at the Aquatics GB Championships. His time is rapidly approaching the 23-second barrier, which is eye-popping considering Grant has only been under even the 24-second threshold 5 times in his career.
Grant now becomes GBR’s 3rd-best performer of all time.
Top 5 British 50m Butterfliers of All Time
- Ben Proud – 22.74, 2025
- Jacob Peters – 22.84, 2024
- Kieran Grant – 23.09, 2026
- Josh Gammon – 23.10, 2026
- Lewis Fraser – 23.26, 2024
Of note, Grant’s 50m free time would have won the event at the Aquatics GB Championships, falling just .01 shy of the qualification standard of 21.88 needed to be selected for this year’s European Championships in Paris. Grant’s 23.09 fly time also would have topped the podium in April, sneaking under Josh Gammon‘s winning result of 23.10. It also would have rendered Grant most likely selected for Paris, clearing the 23.13 qualification standard.
