Swimmers ready for racing at Mare Nostrum Tour

12 May 2023

A host of British Swimming competitors are set to descend on mainland Europe for two legs of the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in Canet and Barcelona – running from 13th-14th and 17th-18th May respectively. 

The opening event in France sees an eight-strong team from the Bath Performance Centre attending the first leg of the illustrious annual event, with Olympic champions Freya Anderson and James Guy among the group gaining valuable international racing experience and testing the work from their most recent training block ahead of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships this July in Fukuoka.

Anderson goes in both the 100m and 200m Freestyle events, with Guy’s busy two days seeing him take part in the 50m and 100m Butterfly, as well as the 100m and 200m Freestyle.

Other representatives from the centre in the French city include European and Commonwealth champion Brodie Williams (100m and 200m Backstroke), World Championship medallist Jacob Peters (50m and 100m Butterfly), European medallist Ed Mildred (100m and 200m Freestyle, 100m Butterfly), Cameron Brooker and Luke Turley, both gearing up for their debut senior Worlds appearance in Japan in two months. 

The group then move south to Barcelona for the second leg of the competition, where they unite with Greg Butler (50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke), Elliot Clogg (100m and 200m Backstroke), Isabella Hindley (50m and 100m Freestyle) and Olympic champion Anna Hopkin (50m and 100m Freestyle). The Loughborough Performance Centre contingent are also looking to take advantage of what is always a high-calibre competition at this stage of the season, following a number of show-stopping performances at last month’s British Swimming Championships.

Anna Hopkin 1 [BSC23 MH]
Hopkin took the 50m Freestyle crown at last month's British Swimming Championships

Swim Wales are also taking a large number of athletes to the Barcelona leg of the competition, including Commonwealth medallist Daniel Jervis (400m & 1500m Freestyle), European Under-23 representative Lewis Fraser (50m and 100m Breaststroke, 50m and 100m Butterfly and 100m Freestyle) and European Junior representative Mabli Collyer (50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke).

The reigning 50m Freestyle world, Commonwealth and European champion Ben Proud is also competing in the event in Barcelona, as well as in the 50m Butterfly, where he is the fastest seed. Proud enjoyed a year of unprecedented sprint success in 2022, and the Mare Nostrum contests will be an important step en route to his title defence bid in Fukuoka.

Imogen Clark of Derventio Excel - a European medallist in Rome last summer - is also set to line up in the 50m and 100m events across breaststroke and freestyle.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Bath Performance Centre coach Jamie Main was looking forward to seeing where the Bath athletes are at at this stage of the season.

“The Bath Performance Centre swimmers are excited to race in Canet and Barcelona at the Mare Nostrum Tour. It’s early in our training cycle so we’re in a heavy block of work aiming towards the World Championships and European Under-23s," he said.

“That said, competing into the summer is a vital part of our preparations as we look to hone our race craft off the back of a successful British Champs. We’re looking forward to going head-to-head with some of the best swimmers in the world.”

The full entry lists for both events can be found here.