Guernsey has named 3 swimmers as part of its 33-athlete team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. This year’s edition of the games will be held from April 4th-15th on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Tom Hollingsworth, Miles Munro, and Tatiana Tostevin have been chosen to represent Guernsey at the 2018 event contested between members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The 3-member roster is a much smaller one than the 2014 roster, which had 8 male and 1 female swimmer compete – including participating in all 3 men’s relays. Munro and Hollingsworth are both repeat competitors, while Tostevin is making her Commonwealth Games debut.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a small crown dependency located in the English Channel that consists of approximately 63,000 citizens on 4 inhabited islands 40 miles off the coast of Normandy. They have won 6 Commonwealth Games medals in their history, all coming in shooting events and lawn bowling, and never in swimming.
In 2014, Munro was the only swimmer to advance to a semi-final, and he did so twice: placing 12th in the 50 free (22.82), and 13th in the 50 fly (24.49).
Since then, Munro has improved his best time in the 50 free to 22.58 (done at the 2014 European Junior Championships), and his 100 free to 49.65 (done at the 2015 British Championships). His more recent times have been less competitive, but if he were able to recapture those bests, he could make a final on the Gold Coast.
Hollingsworth, at almost 29 years old, is the veteran of the group, while Tostevin at 14 is the youngest. Primarily a sprint freestyler and backstroker, she enters as the most in-form of the trio, having gone best times in the 50 free (28.02), 100 free (1:01.06), 50 back (30.05), and 100 back (1:04.95) in 2017. Her backstroke times project her as at least a semi-finalist this year.
Athletes were chosen based on a set of time standards (here) based on results from the 2014 Commonwealth Games and British rankings. The reduction in team size was a result of elevated standards, which according to the Gurnsey Commonwealth Games Association. They say that they “have been requested by the Commonwealth Games Federation to increase the standard of athlete representing their country/nation at the Games.”
Guernsey’s Roster for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
- Athletics (6): Alastair Chalmers, Cameron Chalmers, Tom Druce, Sarah Mercier, Lee Merrien, Sam Wallbridge.
- Badminton (4): Stuart Hardy, Elena Johnson, Chloe Le Tissier, Jordan Trebert.
- Bowls (4): Lucy Beere, Matt Le Ber, Todd Priaulx, Matt Solway.
- Boxing (1): Billy Le Poullain.
- Cycling (8): Andrew Colver, Jack English, Tobyn Horton, Karina Jackson, James McLaughlin, James Roe, Mike Serafin, Seb Tremlett.
- Shooting (6): Darren Burtenshaw, Matthew Guille, Adam Jory, Peter Jory, Stefan Roberts, Nikki Trebert.
- Swimming (3): Tom Hollingsworth, Miles Munro, Tatiana Tostevin.
- Triathlon (1): Josh Lewis.
