Courtesy: British Swimming
A group of 27 athletes – including a host of Olympic, world and European medallists from the past 18 months – have been invited on to British Diving’s World Class Programme (WCP) for the upcoming 2023 season.
As attentions firmly turn to Paris 2024 and the crucial World Championships in Fukuoka 12 months before that, the athletes included on the new WCP list are reflective of the current and future strength in depth in British Diving, a point that was reflected by a best-ever medal tally at the 2022 Worlds and an outstanding set of European and Commonwealth displays too last summer.
Among those included on the Podium tier for the next season are Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding, who won 3m Synchro medals at each of those three majors, including a brilliant silver at the World Championships on their maiden international outing as a pairing. Laugher also enjoyed some stunning individual successes in 2022, as did Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, another included among the Podium athletes, alongside Olympic 10m Synchro champion Matty Lee, European champion Noah Williams and Grace Reid, another to stand on the podium at each of the 2022 internationals.
European gold medallist Lois Toulson, Commonwealth champion Dan Goodfellow and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Kat Torrance complete the Podium list, with 18 divers named on the Podium Potential tier, including a further six 2022 medallists at senior level. Maisie Bond, Jorden Fisher-Eames and Robbie Lee, meanwhile, all became European Junior champions in recent months and will be among the next generation of diving talent targeting further experience and progress over the coming year – with Jorden one of six athletes on the WCP for the first time in 2022/23.
Both Podium and Podium Potential programme tiers receive opportunities and targeted financial assistance from UK Sport through the World Class Performance Programme’s Athlete Performance Award (APA).
Athletes invited on to such World Class Programmes are also eligible to benefit from competition and training camp opportunities throughout the season of their selection, as well as access to world-class sports science and sports medicine provision, in addition to comprehensive support from British Diving performance staff and national Institute of Sport programmes across the UK.
Following a successful year for divers at both senior and junior level, British Swimming Associate Performance Director Tim Jones knows the potential for this group of WCP athletes to move things on again in 2023.
“We are very excited to have invited every single one of these athletes on to the 2023 World Class Programme and to be able to offer our support, in conjunction with UK Sport, as they all look to continue their individual and collective progress on the world’s biggest stages, following on from some truly outstanding results during the packed summer of 2022, including British Diving’s best-ever tally of six medals at a World Championships,” said Jones.
“The 2023 season is a crucial one in the lead-up to Paris 2024. That goes for competition opportunities – with the ultimate focus the World Championships in Fukuoka in July – but also for the work done at their respective training centres, in the diving pool and their work out of the water too, with their coaches and the superb performance and support staff we have across the discipline. I am relishing the chance to work closely with athletes and staff alike over the next 12 months and to see what the year ahead has in store.
“Limited places on programme also remain available as the season progresses, with performances, feasibility and availability being regularly assessed.”
British Diving World Class Programme 2022/23
Podium
- Daniel Goodfellow, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Anthony Harding, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Jack Laugher, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Matthew Lee, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Grace Reid, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Katherine Torrance, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Lois Toulson, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Noah Williams, British Diving Performance Centre, London
Podium Potential
- Leon Baker, Southampton Diving Academy
- Desharne Bent-Ashmeil, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Maisie Bond, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Ben Cutmore, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Matthew Dixon, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Jorden Fisher-Eames, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Yasmin Harper, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Ross Haslam, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- James Heatly, Edinburgh Diving Club
- Jordan Houlden, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Juliette John, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Oscar Kane, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Kyle Kothari, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Robbie Lee, Southampton Diving Academy
- Emily Martin, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Scarlett Mew-Jensen, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Amy Rollinson, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Evie Smith, British Diving Performance Centre, London
