Grantham teen selected to represent England – update

A Grantham teenager has been selected to represent England in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

She is one of only 85 swimmers have been named in the first-ever England Swimming Team.

She told GM: “I feel very excited at the prospect of being selected and competing at a Commonwealth Games, especially a home games!

“To have been recognised at this age especially is really humbling.

“With all the uncertainty around and cancellations of training and competition this past year it’s great to have something to look forward to and work towards.”

16-year-old  Freya Colbert, a member of Grantham Swim Club and  Nottingham’s Nova Centurion is no stranger to the international scene.

The KGGS Sixth-Former has been on British Swimming’s talent pathway for a number of years but her inclusion on the Podium programme – and associated funding – at such a young age was  a giant leap forward.

Freya was one of a group of eight emerging junior swimmers from around the UK who made their mark I the summer of 2019 at the European Junior Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia and the European Youth Olympics in Baku, Azerbaijan, and have all been put on the road to podium success.

But Freya, who came home to Grantham with five silver medals from the competitions, is keeping focused and not letting these achievements go to her head.

She had been training at a camp near Mount Fuji for the 2020 Olympics – for which a date has yet to be fixed.

Grant Robins, Swim England head of talent – swimming and also the team leader for the swimming team at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, congratulated all those that had been selected – but insisted it didn’t mean others wouldn’t get an opportunity to earn a place in the team over the coming months.

Selections for the Swim England National Performance Squad swimmers included were based on performances that have been recorded that show potential to win medals in Birmingham either as an individual or as part of a relay team.

Some swimmers have also been selected that have shown an outstanding performance curve that will also have an impact on selections for Paris in 2024.