With just 295 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games get underway, British Swimming has today (3rd October) unveiled its swimming selection policy.
As with every Olympiad, British Swimming will nominate a team to the British Olympic Association (BOA) to represent Team GB at the Olympic Games. The policy, which can be seen in full below, aims to optimise medal count in both individual and relay events at the Games.
As unveiled last week, the 2020 British Swimming Championships, which will take place at the London Aquatics Centre between 14th-19th April 2020, and will also act as the selection trials for Tokyo, the 2020 European Championships, and the 2020 European Junior Championships. First past the post in the open final of each individual Olympic event at the 2020 British Championships will be nominated for selection, as long as the athlete equals or betters the qualifying time outlined in the selection policy.
As we enter the final year of the Olympic cycle, National Performance Director Chris Spice, commented:
“We are now into the home straight as we head towards another Olympic Games and whilst we are in a good place, there is still much work to be done. The World Championships in July saw us win a number of medals, with some of our emerging talent stepping up and performing well on the big stage. We need to keep this momentum going throughout the next 10 months, with the 2020 British Swimming Championships the key stepping stone along the way.
“As usual our selection policy is geared around winning medals when it matters most, with qualifying times reflecting the level of global swimming at present. Winning medals at Tokyo 2020 will be much harder than this year’s World’s, but we’ll be doing everything we can to ensure our swimmers are as ready as they can be. Already we have seen an ‘Olympic-shift’ in our major centres as we narrow our focus this year, which is a great sign. The minute you stand still is the minute you will be overtaken, so we are looking forward to working with our key coaches and support staff in finding those small margins that may be so crucial in Tokyo. And, of course, we will be working hard to ensure our athletes and staff can enjoy the journey together - it will be an exciting ten months ahead. ”
The British Swimming Olympic selection policy can be found here.