Another year, another Olympics.
We are extremely proud to announce that our Head Swimming Coach, Hayley Baker, will be taking to the world stage in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024, where she will carry out the role of the Marathon Coach for Team GB.
Hayley has been a coach here at Swansea University for over 5 years, and this will be her second consecutive Olympics games following her nomination for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, where Hayley was the only representative from a Welsh swimming club. Hayley has also recently carried out the role of a marathon coach in the World Championships in Doha, which saw one of her athletes Hector Pardoe swim to a bronze in the Men’s 10km, securing a spot in Paris 2024.
Hayleys role will consist of preparing the marathon swimmers for the Olympic arena and assisting them in delivering top-quality performances in their races. During her time in Paris, Hayley will be preparing the athletes mentally and physically, ready to take on the 10k distance, as well as delivering on the ‘feeding stations’ where Hayley will help provide nutrition to the athletes during the event.
We caught up with Hayley to talk about this incredible opportunity, and to learn more about our incredible swimming coach. Watch the clip here. We are extremely proud of Hayley’s achievements and wish her the best of luck as she leads the way in Paris!
Our partners, Swim Wales, are excited to announce that two of their athletes will be joining Hayley in Paris. Daniel Jervis, previous Olympic athlete in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, secured his place for Paris as he won the 1500m at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championship earlier this month in London. Along with Dan, Hector Pardoe, another Swim Wales athlete, will also compete in his second Olympics at Paris 2024, as he won an historic 10km bronze at the World Aquatics Championships, becoming the first British man to win a global medal since Welshman David Davies, securing his place in this year’s Olympics.
Congratulations all, an incredible achievement – enjoy this opportunity!
Learn more about the swimming programme Hayley leads here - https://www.swansea.ac.uk/sport/swimming/