May 5, 2022 11.26 am This story is over 22 months old

Lincolnshire teen joins Adam Peaty in GB swimming squad for World Championships

And her sister is a junior swimming champion!
Grantham swimming sensation Freya Colbert. | Photo: @chewbokeh/Steve Li

An 18-year-old swimmer from Grantham has been selected to represent Great Britain for the World Championships.

Freya Colbert is about to sit her A-Levels at Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School in Grantham and swims for Nottinghamshire’s performance swimming club Nova Centurion.

The teenager has been on British Swimming’s World Class Podium Potential Programme since she was 15. She is now eligible for Commonwealth Games selection and is now in the squad for June’s World Championships in Budapest, alongside Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty and well-known swimmers Duncan Scott and Molly Renshaw.

The Grantham teenager was the stand out Nova Centurion swimmer in a record-breaking team effort at the British Championships in April at Ponds Forge in Sheffield. She was one of 29 swimmers who qualified and 23 who represented Nova Centurion.

Colbert was crowned British Champion in the 400IM (Individual Medley) after winning the gold medal. She has also won silver in the 400m Freestyle, and bronze in the 200m Freestyle.

Freya Colbert is part of Nottinghamshire’s performance swimming club Nova Centurion. | Photo: @chewbokeh/Steve Li

Two other Nova swimmers – Livia Kingsland and Freya’s younger sister Iona Colbert – were crowned Junior Champions in the 1500m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke respectively. They have now been selected to compete at the European Junior Championships in Bucharest, Romania in July.

Nathan Hilton, Nova head coach and director of swimming said: “It was an amazing week for our club with some incredible swims across the board. It was a fitting reward for a year of hard work by the swimmers and coaching team to see so many PBs, finalists and medallists.

“Swimmers have endured two years of disruption and pool closures because of COVID which has been extremely challenging, but Nova swimmers have showed their resilience and come back fighting and we’re now seeing the rewards.

“Freya’s achievements caught the eye against some world-class swimmers, but she was far from alone in exceeding expectations.

“I’m so proud of all of them and the wonderful coaches, base clubs, parents, support staff and volunteers we have here in Nottinghamshire. It really has been a team effort with everyone contributing in their own way.”