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Former Colchester swimmer Laura Stephens still in contention for Olympic spot

Jonathan Waldron
·1-min read
In contention - Laura Stephens is in line to compete at this summer's Paris Olympics after finishing second in the women's 200m butterfly race at the British Championships <i>(Image: PRESS ASSOCIATION)</i>
In contention - Laura Stephens is in line to compete at this summer's Paris Olympics after finishing second in the women's 200m butterfly race at the British Championships (Image: PRESS ASSOCIATION)

COLCHESTER international swimmer Laura Stephens is in contention for a Team GB spot for this summer's Paris Olympics.

The 24-year-old finished second in the women's 200 metres butterfly on the first day of the British Swimming Championships at the London Aquatics Centre.

Stephens, the reigning world champion in the event, finished second behind Scotland's Keanna MacInnes.

The Wix swimmer finished below the required nomination time to put herself in contention for Team GB.

She swam under the qualification time in two minutes 07.37 seconds and is likely to compete in France.

She is in line to be one of a maximum 30 swimmers nominated by Aquatics GB following the championships' conclusion on Sunday.

The most direct way of securing a Paris 2024 nomination is to finish first in the open finals of each individual event, provided athletes clock in at or under a specific time set by the newly-rebranded Aquatics GB.

However, nominations are still subject to an official rubber-stamp by the British Olympic Association.

Gazette:
Gazette:

Stephens won a brilliant gold at the World Championships in Doha, in February.

The former Colchester County High School for Girls pupil become Great Britain's first individual female world champion since 2011.

Stephens grew up competing for Colchester Swimming Club, before moving onto Plymouth Leander.

She made the switch to the British Swimming Performance Centre, Loughborough after Tokyo 2020, where she swam the 200m butterfly and finished just outside the final spots in a very respectable tenth place in her event debut.