Two Of Britain's 4x200 Olympic Pioneers Missing From Aquatics GB Honours Shortlist
Duncan Scott and Matt Richards qualify for the British Athlete of the Year shortlist on the basis they claimed solo silver medals alongside their relay gold, while Adam Peaty and Ben Proud are also nominated as silver medallists in solo events. But no nomination for Tom Dean and James Guy
The fact comes down to the limitation of award categories but even then, the omission of two of Britain's Olympic 4x200m free champions and pioneers as members of the first precise-same relay quartet ever to retain a Games stands out on a shortlist of nominees for the The Aquatics GB Awards 2024.
Duncan Scott and Matt Richards qualify for the Athlete of the Year shortlist on the basis they claimed solo silver medals alongside their relay gold, while Adam Peaty and Ben Proud are also nominated as silver medallists in solo events.
However, there is no nomination for Tom Dean and James Guy, stalwarts of Britain's historic relay success:
If it seems that the shortlist is also short-sighted, the solution would surely be to extend the categories to include relay recognition, in line with the spirit of much-promoted celebration of relay heat swimmers awarded medals in team ceremonies away from the lights of podium ceremonies.
In similar vein, some of the coaches of those nominated for athlete of the year are also missing from the list for Coach of the Year, Mel Marshall and James Gibson obvious omissions.
Meanwhile, the following are the swimming nominations:
AQUATICS GB AWARDS 2024 NOMINEE SHORTLISTS
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Swimming
- Adam Peaty, Ben Proud, Matt Richards, Duncan Scott
Para-Swimming
- Stephen Clegg, Poppy Maskill, Maisie Summers-Newton, Alice Tai
COACH OF THE YEAR
Swimming
- David Hemmings, Ryan Livingstone, Steven Tigg
Para-Swimming
- David Heathcock, Andy Sharp, Mat Trodden
EMERGING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Swimming
- Amelie Blocksidge, Max Morgan, Theodora Taylor
Para-Swimming
- William Ellard, Mark Tompsett, Iona Winnifrith
The Aquatics GB Statement in Full
The full shortlist for The Aquatics GB Awards 2024 has been confirmed, as we prepare to celebrate the stars and highlights of an incredible year for aquatics.
After a season that has taken in a stunning Olympic and Paralympic summer in Paris, via successful World and European Championships across the disciplines in Doha, Madeira and Belgrade - as well as outstanding performances at some major junior international events - The Aquatics GB Awards 2024 will take place on Saturday 16th November, recognising some of the athletes and staff who played crucial parts in many sporting memories that will last a lifetime.
There are Athlete of the Year prizes up for grabs across five aquatic disciplines, with Stephen Clegg, Poppy Maskill, Maisie Summers-Newton and Alice Tai all nominated in the para-swimming category after becoming multiple Paralympic champions in Paris.
Tom Daley, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix and Noah Williams all reached the Paris podium after brilliant platform displays as part of Team GB's record-breaking diving performance and are nominated for Diver of the Year, while Adam Peaty, Ben Proud, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott are the Swimmer of the Year nominees, the latter pair having won two Olympic medals and contributing to a history-making Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay victory, Peaty having further cemented his Olympic breaststroking legacy and Proud completing his major medal CV with sprint freestyle silver.
Seasons of history for Kate Shortman, Isabelle Thorpe and Ranjuo Tomblin - the women's pair earning first GB duet medals at Olympic and world level, Tomblin setting a new benchmark at the European Championships - mean they are all nominated for Artistic Swimmer of the Year, with Katie Brown, Sophie Jackson, Kathy Rogers and Brooke Tafazolli recognised for helping the Aquatics GB women's water polo team back to the World Championship stage by making the shortlist in their sport's Athlete of the Year category.
As ever, our world-class coaches played pivotal roles in all of the above successes and more, with many recognised in the Coach of the Year shortlists.
David Heathcock, Andy Sharp and Mat Trodden are in the running for the Para-Swimming Coach of the Year prize for their respective work with Tai, Summers-Newton and Clegg, among other high-performing Paralympians; the impact of Jane Figueiredo, Tom Owens, Alex Rochas and Adam Smallwood on best-ever medal returns for our diving team at the Olympics and February's World Championships - in which all saw at least one of their divers on to the podium at both events - has them as the Diving Coach of the Year nominees. David Hemmings, Ryan Livingstone and Steven Tigg, meanwhile, were all valuable members of the Olympic swimming coaching team that oversaw a return of one gold and four silvers from Paris.
The Artistic Swimming Coach of the Year shortlist is made up of Paola Basso, Karen Thorpe and Yumiko Tomomatsu, all centrally involved in the greatest year in the history of British artistic swimming, while Izzy Howe, Nick Hume and Tom Wall's valuable work across several men's and women's age-group teams earns them nominations in the Water Polo Coach of the Year category.
This year also served up some exciting performances from the Aquatics GB stars of the future, a fact recognised across the Emerging Athlete of the Year shortlists.
Paralympic debutants Will Ellard, Mark Tompsett and Iona Winnifrith all earned maiden medals in Paris - featuring two titles and a world record for Ellard, the accolade of ParalympicsGB's youngest medallist of the Games for Winnifrith and a brilliant backstroke bronze from Tompsett.
In swimming, Amelie Blocksidge, Max Morgan and Theodora Taylor are up for the prize after securing European Junior podium placings and various age-group records in 2024, while Maisie Bond, Skye Fisher-Eames and Noah Penman enjoyed successful campaigns to make the diving shortlist.
The Aquatics GB Awards 2024 will take place on the evening of Saturday 16th November. The curtain will come down on the night when the Maurice Watkins Champion Athlete Award - named in memory of our late Chair - is handed out to the overall Athlete of the Year winner.
Find out more about every single nominee across on the dedicated Aquatics GB Awards 2024 page.
AQUATICS GB AWARDS 2024 NOMINEE SHORTLISTS
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Artistic Swimming
Kate Shortman, Isabelle Thorpe, Ranjuo Tomblin
Diving
Tom Daley, Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Noah Williams
Para-Swimming
Stephen Clegg, Poppy Maskill, Maisie Summers-Newton, Alice Tai
Swimming
Adam Peaty, Ben Proud, Matt Richards, Duncan Scott
Water Polo
Katie Brown, Sophie Jackson, Kathy Rogers, Brooke Tafazolli
COACH OF THE YEAR
Artistic Swimming
Paola Basso, Karen Thorpe, Yumiko Tomomatsu
Diving
Jane Figueiredo, Tom Owens, Alex Rochas, Adam Smallwood
Para-Swimming
David Heathcock, Andy Sharp, Mat Trodden
Swimming
David Hemmings, Ryan Livingstone, Steven Tigg
Water Polo
Izzy Howe, Nick Hume, Tom Wall
EMERGING ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Diving
Maisie Bond, Skye Fisher-Eames, Noah Penman
Para-Swimming
William Ellard, Mark Tompsett, Iona Winnifrith
Swimming
Amelie Blocksidge, Max Morgan, Theodora Taylor
