By North Derbyshire Radio’s Sports Reporter Dylan Pick
The swimming events at the Aquatics World Championship are set to get underway this Sunday in Singapore this weekend with some local faces ready to dive into the pool at the World Aquatics Championships Arena.
Abbie Wood from Buxton and Jacob Whittle from Alfreton will represent Great Britain with both of their campaigns set to get going on the opening day of competition this Sunday.
Whittle will be part of the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle relay team that will look to win Team GB’s first ever World Championship medal in this event despite winning silver at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The heats take place in the morning session starting at 03:00 in the UK with 25 teams battling out for one of the eight spots for the final on Sunday evening with that session kicking off at 12:00.
Wood will also be in action in the morning session on Sunday as she starts off with her first event, the Women’s 200m Individual Medley and a potential Semi-Final awaits her later in the afternoon at 13:00.
If successful, Wood will have a chance at a medal in the event with the final taking place during the evening session on Monday with the race due off at 13:20.
She will also be competing in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley, the same event she won the European Junior Championship in Azerbaijan in 2015, with the event taking place on the final day, Sunday 3rd August.
Whilst both athletes have won medals at the World Championship they are yet to win a gold in any event – could Singapore 2025 be their first?
Swimming Legend To Miss Competition
The most successful swimmer in British history, Adam Peaty, will miss the event whilst he is still on his break from competitive swimming which he announced after he won a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The break was announced after Peaty wanted to prioritise his mental health.
The 30 year old has won 34 medals at major championships including 3 Olympic and 6 World Championship golds.
After winning his first Olympic medal in 2016 in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke at Rio it is still uncertain if he will be back to compete at the Los Angeles games in 2028.
Along with his multiple medals, he is also the current World Record holder of both the Men’s 50m and 100m Breaststroke, both which he has held since 2015.
Back-to-back Olympic Champions Eye Up More World Glory
Part of Team GB’s medal hopes are the athletes that were part of the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle team that has won gold at the past two Olympic games.
Part of the back-to-back Olympic winning team was Tom Dean, Duncan Scott, Matt Richards and James Guy, with all four of them taking part in Singapore this year.
Both Richards and Guy will be taking part in the Men’s 200m Freestyle, an event both won at a World Championship previously with Richards in 2023 and Guy in 2015.
Their heats and potential Semi-Final’s will be held on the second day of competition, Monday 28th July, with the heats starting at 04:00 with Guy in Heat 4 and Richards in Heat 5 and their Semi-Finals starting at 13:05.
The events final is scheduled for the day after in the evening session with the race for the medals starting at 12:00.
Richards, Dean and Scott will all be competing on Day 4, Wednesday 30th July as Richards has his second event, the Men’s 100m Freestyle and Dean and Scott both competing in the Men’s 200m Medley.
Heats for the Men’s 100m Freestyle start at 03:20, with Richards competing in Heat 10, and the Semi-Finals due later in the day at 12:25, the final taking place the following day at 12:30.
Dean and Scott’s only individual event’s heats starts at 04:00 on Wednesday with both swimmers going head-to-head in heat 4.
Like the Men’s 100m Freestyle, the Semi-Finals are due at 13:30 the same evening followed by the final on Thursday at 12:20.
All four will be eyeing up an attempt to reclaim their Men’s 4x200m Freestyle relay gold following their success in Paris, with the full team yet to be confirmed.
The event is set to take place on Day 6, Friday 1st August with Team GB going off in Heat 2 at 05:00, and the final in the afternoon at 13:30.
18-Year-Old Set For World Championships Debut Following National Championship Success
Eva Okora will be the youngest female athlete in Team GB’s swimming programme at the event making her World Championship debut at 18 years old.
Okora took part at the Paris Olympics in 2024 at just 17 years old, part of the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle team that ended up finishing 7th.
At the British Swimming Championship in April, Okora won two national titles in the Women’s 50m Butterfly and Women’s 50m Freestyle.
At the World Championship, Okora has two events scheduled for her, firstly the Women’s 100m Freestyle which takes place on Day 5, Thursday 31st July with the heats being the first event scheduled for the morning session at 03:00.
The 18-year-old races in Heat 8 as she will look to book her spot in the Semi-Finals during Thursday’s evening session at 12:20.
The events final is due to take place the following day, with it being the first medal to be won in the session with the race starting just after 12:00.
Her second individual event will be her battle to become the world’s fastest female swimmer in the 50m Freestyle, starting on the penultimate day, Saturday 2nd August.
Heats for the event start at 03:00 with the young Brit going in Heat 10, Semi-Finals are later that day at 12:45.
A positive Saturday could see her in the events final on the last day of competition, Sunday 3rd August with the medal race to be held at 12:15.
With Team GB’s women not having a squad for the 4x100m Relay, Okora will have to wait to improve on their 2024 Olympic result at the global stage.
