Three Olympic champions are among the first athletes to be included in Team England’s Swimming team for the home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer. 

Ten swimmers have been announced in the initial selection, including Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Adam Peaty OBE, Anna Hopkin MBE and Tom Dean MBE. Luke Greenbank and James Wilby – who also claimed medals in last year’s Olympic Games – are part of the selected 10, which is completed by Max Litchfield, Abbie Wood, Ben Proud, Molly Renshaw and Alicia Wilson.

Every one of the 10 reached at least one individual final at Tokyo 2020, with Peaty and Dean clinching stunning golds in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke and Men’s 200m Freestyle respectively. They were also part of victorious relay efforts, with Peaty helping Britain’s quartet to a record-breaking triumph in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay, which involved a brilliant anchor leg from Hopkin.

Team England will send a team of more than 400 athletes to compete at Birmingham 2022 and capitalise on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring home success in their own country – with England’s swimmers eyeing the chance to win medals and make memories in the new Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

The first 10 stars set to represent Team England in Swimming are:

Tom Dean MBE, London – Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in both the 200m Freestyle – in a British record time – and the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay. Also competed at the 2020 European Championships, where he won three gold and two silver medals in the team events and one individual bronze in the 200m Freestyle. Set for his Team England debut in Birmingham.

Luke Greenbank, Cheshire – Silver medallist at 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and gold medallist at 2020 Budapest European Championships in Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay, Greenbank became a double Olympic medallist across individual and relay races last summer. He swam to bronze in the Men’s 200m Backstroke, before contributing to that Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay silver.

Anna Hopkin MBE, Lancashire – Won gold as part of the British team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay, setting a new world record time and bringing the silverware home with a brilliant anchor leg of freestyle. Bronze medallist in the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Max Litchfield, Yorkshire – Four-time European Championship medallist, as well as a European Short Course champion in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley. Litchfield is a two-time finalist in the Olympic Men’s 400m Individual Medley and is preparing for his second Team England appearance, following on from Glasgow 2014 – he missed Gold Coast 2018 after selection with a shoulder injury.

Adam Peaty OBE, Staffordshire – Three-time Commonwealth champion. Won gold in the 100m Breaststroke at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years. He retained the title at Tokyo 2020, becoming the first British swimmer ever to defend an Olympic crown, before laying down eye-catching efforts as Britain claimed Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay gold and silver in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay.

Ben Proud, London – Three-time Commonwealth champion. Won double gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly, as well as 50m Freestyle at Gold Coast 2018. A two-time Olympic finalist in the blue riband 50m Freestyle event.

Molly Renshaw, Nottinghamshire – Double European champion from Budapest 2020 (2021), including a memorable victory in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke. Renshaw – a two-time Olympian – has three Commonwealth medals to her name including 200m Breaststroke bronze and silvers from Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018 respectively.

James Wilby, Yorkshire – Double Commonwealth champion. Won gold at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay and at the 2018 Gold Commonwealth Games, thanks to a stunning individual swim in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke. He claimed his maiden Olympic medal in helping Britain to Tokyo 2020 silver in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay.

Alicia Wilson, Surrey – Gold medallist at the 2017 Nassau Commonwealth Youth Games and the 2019 Naples World University Games in 200m medley, Wilson secured her Olympic debut as part of Britain’s Tokyo 2020 team – and she made the Women’s 200m Individual Medley final, alongside Team England compatriot Abbie Wood. Set for her Commonwealth debut in Birmingham.

Abbie Wood, Derbyshire – Double gold medallist at the 2020 European Championships in the Women’s 4x100m freestyle and Mixed 4x200m freestyle, Wood also earned individual honours with a fine Women’s 200m Individual Medley silver. She made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, breaking her personal best in the Olympic final. Made two Commonwealth finals in 2018.

Speaking about the prospect of competing at his third Commonwealth Games, three-time Commonwealth champion Adam Peaty said: “It’s always a privilege to be selected to represent my country and I’m so excited about a home Commonwealth Games, especially one that is so close to the area I grew up in. Having the home crowd in the stands supporting us gives me even more motivation to perform my best and inspire those people watching. I can’t wait to represent Team England again!”

Second-time Team England athlete Abbie Wood added: “Before, with the Gold Coast I was just very happy to be selected for the team. I am this time too, of course, but in 2022, I feel like I'm ready to race and get among all the racing, rather than just being there for the ride.

"I'm in the middle of it now, I'm in the mix and I want to perform as well as I can in front of a home crowd, in front of my parents, who haven't seen me race since I have stepped it up. It's been a couple of years - maybe the last major meet they saw me at was the Commies, so it'll be nice for them to be a part of it and for me to show them how far I've come."

Team England’s Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, welcomed the athletes to the team: “This is an exceptional Swimming team selected to represent Team England in Birmingham this summer. It contains World, Olympic, and Commonwealth Champions and medal winners and I’m confident they will perform with distinction at what will undoubtedly be a very competitive swim meet. I’m really looking forward to the whole Swimming Team building in the coming months, and of course excited to see them compete in the spectacular new competition pool in Sandwell.”

Selection for para swimmers and the remaining swimmers to compete in the Commonwealth Games for Team England will be announced in the build up to the Games.

You can get behind Team England by following its social channels where each athlete will become Part of the Pride in the run up to Birmingham.