2012 Target Squad

Talented young swimmers reach for gold British Swimming has unveiled its Target Squad for the London 2012 Olympics at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham and the squad, made up of 139 swimmers, includes 8 from clubs in the Tees Valley.

Matthew Allison (16yrs), Andrew Winspear (16yrs), Jemma Lowe (17yrs) and Jessica Dickons (17yrs) all swim for Borough of Stockton and are coached by
Graeme Antwhistle. Peter Thompson (17yrs), Aimee Willmott (14yrs) and Olivia Atkinson (15yrs) swim for Middlesbrough and are coached by Les Green. The youngest of the swimmers, Stephanie Blakeburn (13yrs), swims for Billingham Forum and is coached by Guy Fawkes.

John Atkinson, British Swimming Director of World Class Programmes viewed the squad as; “A collection of some of the most exciting swimming talent I’ve seen, together with a selection of coaches that are continually delivering world class swimmers”.

Tees Valley Sport’s Swimming Development Officer, Jane Roche, is also overjoyed at the region’s influence within the squad; “Having eight swimmers from the Tees Valley chosen for the 2012 Target Squad is a great achievement, and as well as the swimmers themselves congratulations must go to the parents, coaches and clubs who have worked closely with them. It’s an exciting time for all involved and we hope everyone will look forward to watching their development and future successes”.

The squad will now attend a series of training camps where they will be set tough standards in order to progress. This development will continue until closer to the Olympics when, for some of the squad, thoughts will begin to turn to medal possibilities. 

February 2008