Stirling swimmers confirmed for Aquatics GB 2025 World Class Programme

A total of 14 University of Stirling swimmers have been invited on to Aquatics GB's World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2025 season, which culminates with July and August's World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

They join a total of 57 swimmers from across the UK selected for the year ahead, following on from last summer's haul of five medals in the Paris Olympic pool for Team GB – three of them earned by Stirling athletes.

All athletes named on the WCP went through a thorough selection process, which focuses on a detailed assessment of their capability to be successful at future Olympics and senior World Championships.

Swimmers are split across Podium and Podium Potential tiers, with Stirling Olympics medallists Duncan Scott and Jack McMillan among those selected for the prestigious Podium list.

Freya Anderson will also be part of the Podium programme, having confirmed her move to the University of Stirling programme, alongside British champion Angharad Evans, who will now represent Scotland. Fellow Team GB swimmers Kathleen Dawson, Lucy Hope and Katie Shanahan, who competed at the Paris Olympics, complete the Stirling Podium representation.

The Podium Potential tier, meanwhile, features the talents of Stirling swimmers David Annis, Evie Dilley, Lucy Grieve, Keanna MacInnes, Holly McGill and George Smith, alongside Dean Fearn who trains between Stirling and his home base at Aberdeen Dolphins.

Athletes across the World Class Programme receive programme opportunities and targeted support from Aquatics GB and UK Sport, including key competition opportunities and training camp experiences throughout the season. There is also access to comprehensive support from the world-leading Aquatics GB performance and sports science and sports medicine staff, and an athlete performance award.

David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: "The high volume of Stirling swimmers on the Aquatics GB World Class programme is testament to the performance environment that has been created by the coaches and support staff on campus. The programme is built on strong and successful partnerships, and we look forward to working collaboratively with our partner agencies to give athletes the best opportunity to succeed in 2025 and beyond."

Aquatics GB Performance Director Chris Spice said: "The start of a new Olympic cycle is always an exciting time across our World Class Programme, with established athletes looking to build on the work and performances they have put together over previous years, and opportunities for the next crop of British swimming talent to come through and flourish on the senior international stage.

"Off the back of a successful Games in Paris, several of our top athletes have had extended breaks, which they richly deserved.  This will no doubt impact on our team selection and performances in Singapore – however, I am particularly keen to see which of our youngsters can move forward this year and challenge for senior team selection. This is a year for us to find new talent and start building towards LA 2028 and we can’t wait to get going. In some ways it will be nice to return to a normal calendar over the next four years.”

Aquatics GB’s new Head Coach is Steven Tigg, formerly with the University of Stirling.

The University of Stirling’s world-leading high-performance swim programme provides athletes with a bespoke package of world-class coaching, access to state-of-the-art facilities, performance mentoring, and access to the latest innovations in sports research.

Those on scholarships can also benefit from academic flexibility to support their education alongside their sporting ambitions.