Courtesy: British Swimming
A strong team of 29 divers has been invited on to British Swimming’s World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2023-2024 season, as the group look to build on a record-breaking year ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The British Diving cohort took three silver medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka over the summer, including two medals won by Andrea Spendolini Sirieix & Lois Toulson (10m Synchro) and Yasmin Harper & Scarlett Mew Jensen (3m Synchro) – the first medals at a World Championships to be won in women’s events by British divers.
Seven pieces of silverware were also won by the team that went to the 2023 European Diving Championships (European Games), with Ross Haslam and Eden Cheng becoming individual champions in the Men’s 1m Springboard and Women’s 10m Platform respectively.
The number of athletes on the Podium programme has gone up from nine in the previous year to 12 this time-round, off the back of those impressive performances. Mew Jensen, Harper and Kyle Kothari all make the move up from Podium Potential, with Olympic champion Tom Daley returning to the list following a two-year break from the sport.
Hannah Newbrook and Noah Penman are amongst the new additions to the Podium Potential list, with newly-crowned European junior champions Oliver Heath and Tilly Brown also amongst the 17 athletes in that category.
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.
With less than a year to go until the divers take to the Paris Aquatics Centre for the 2024 Olympic Games, British Swimming’s Associate Performance Director, Tim Jones, spoke of his confidence in the group to continue their impressive momentum.
“The athletes named onto the World Class Programme are presented with a unique opportunity to build on what they have learnt so far, whilst continuing to develop their skills in our world-class training environments,” he said.
“Those new to the Programme will benefit not only from access to amazing facilities and staff, but also exposure to a group of highly successful and experienced elite athletes on the team. We hope that the competition opportunities we can provide over the coming months will allow the cohort to build towards next summer’s Olympic Games.
“Everyone at British Diving is now fully-focused on delivering the best possible medal haul in Paris, whilst continually ensuring that those on long-term plans have appropriate development opportunities throughout the year.”
Many of the athletes on this year’s World Class Programme competed at the recent London Legacy Open at the London Aquatics Centre, with full results available on DiveRecorder. Among those to reach the top step of the podium were Yasmin Harper in the Women’s 3m Springboard, Jack Laugher in the Men’s 3m Springboard event and Ross Haslam in the 1m contest, ahead of next month’s Scottish National Diving Championships inc. British Diving Cup 2023 in Edinburgh.
Divers invited on to the 2023-2024 World Class Programme (WCP)
Podium
- Tom Daley, British Diving Performance Centre, London / UCLA
- Daniel Goodfellow, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Anthony Harding, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Yasmin Harper, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Kyle Kothari, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Jack Laugher, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Matty Lee, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Scarlett Mew Jensen, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Grace Reid, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Lois Toulson, British Diving Performance Centre, Leeds
- Noah Williams, British Diving Performance Centre, London
Podium Potential
- Leon Baker, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Desharne Bent-Ashmeil, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Maisie Bond, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Tilly Brown, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Ben Cutmore, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Jorden Fisher-Eames, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Ross Haslam, City of Sheffield Diving Club
- Oliver Heath, Plymouth 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
- Robbie Lee, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Hannah Newbrook, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Noah Penman, Aberdeen Diving Club
- Amy Rollinson, British Diving Performance Centre, London
- Evie Smith, British Diving Performance Centre, London
No Eden Cheng?