Kent trio Eva Okaro, Amalie Smith and Iona Winnifrith are off to Glasgow this summer after Team England announced their swimming and para swimming squads for the Commonwealth Games.
A total of 42 athletes will take to the pool to represent their country at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, headlined by four-time Commonwealth champion and fastest breaststroke swimmer of all-time, Adam Ramsay-Peaty.
Sevenoaks’ Okaro, 19, made history in Paris two years ago when she became the first black female to represent Team GB in the pool at an Olympics. She was also part of the Team England Futures programme that visited the 2022 Games in Birmingham and now gets to sample the competition for real.
RTW Swimming Club member Smith, 16, of Tonbridge, joins Okaro and is one to watch after an outstanding display at the Aquatic GB Championships last month. Her win in the 400m individual medley with a time of 4min35.46sec was a European Championships and Commonwealth Games qualifying time.
Fifteen-year-old Winnifrith, also from Tonbridge, will be eying more international success after an outstanding Paris Paralympics in 2024.
Winnifrith became ParalympicsGB’s youngest swimming medallist this century when she set a personal best in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7 final in Paris and was beaten only by a lowering of the world record.
Team England Chef de Mission Jonathon Riall said: “It’s brilliant to be able to announce such a strong swimming squad for Glasgow 2026.
“We have a number of returning Commonwealth champions and true stars of the sport, alongside some new faces who are set to make their mark this summer.”
Swim England Head of Sport and the Team England Team Leader for Swimming and Para Swimming, Richard Blackshaw, added: “The swimming team is immensely proud and excited to have the opportunity to represent Team England and the English swimming community at the Commonwealth Games, an honour that does not come around often for athletes.
“What makes this team particularly special is its fully integrated nature, bringing together Para and Olympic pathway athletes to compete as one unified group, reflecting the very best of inclusivity and shared ambition.
“United by a common goal, the team is determined to represent Team England with distinction this summer, both in and out of the pool, and to showcase the strength, resilience and talent within English swimming.”
The Games take place from July 23-August 2.
