KATHLEEN Dawson has done it - her selection for the Tokyo Olympics is confirmed.

The 23-year-old former Great Sankey High School student and Warriors of Warrington Swimming Club junior, who now competes for University of Stirling, will fly the flag for her home town this summer.

And she is joined in the 24 swimmers added to Team GB by James Guy, who moved to the town from Bury and studied at Cardinal Newman High School before continuing his education down south.

The announcement follows the recent British Swimming Selection Trials, in which both Dawson and Guy excelled.

Warrington Guardian:

Dawson is one of a wave of young women named in the squad who have used the 12-month hiatus forced by the coronavirus pandemic to continue improving.

She won the 100m and 200m backstroke in London two weeks ago, becoming the eighth fastest swimmer in history in the former.

> Dawson reveals where the belief came from to achieve Olympics dream

Team GB Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Mark England, commented: “In the space of less than a week we have seen the number of Team GB athletes selected for Tokyo jump from 40 to 70, which is incredibly exciting and demonstrates just how much the momentum is growing as we edge closer to 23rd July.

“The quality of this team is exceptionally high and the recent selection trials illustrated how dedicated each swimmer has been to earning their selection for Tokyo throughout what has undoubtedly been a very challenging period. Congratulations to everyone and we look forward to watching you all in action in Tokyo.”

Speaking of the quality of the team selected to travel to Japan, British Swimming Performance Director and Swimming Team Leader for Tokyo, Chris Spice, said: “What an amazing week of racing we just witnessed at the iconic London Aquatic Centre.

"We had several stand out performances and personal bests at every turn.

"We have over 40% athletes on the team that were not with us at our last World Championships in 2019 which demonstrates the outstanding work coaches and support staff across Britain have done keeping these athletes training to the highest of levels in very challenging circumstances during the last 18 months.

“Of course, our work has only just begun and we now turn our attention to swimming faster in the summer which I know every athlete on this team is capable of. If we do this I am sure we can have a very successful Tokyo Games.”

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