The 2026 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships concluded at the London Aquatic Centre on Sunday night after six days of racing that re-established Great Britain's place among the world's deepest long-course swimming programmes. The meet, which doubled as the British selection trials for the August European Championships, delivered a clutch of world-leading times and an unusually dense set of Olympic-level performances.
The headline moment came on the final night, as Matt Richards beat James Guy, Duncan Scott and Jack McMillan in the men's 200m freestyle in 1:44.77, fourth-fastest in the world this year. Adam Peaty earlier in the week claimed his ninth 50m breaststroke title, and Freya Anderson returned to form with a 200m freestyle win in 1:55.6, her fastest time since 2022.
On the women's side, young Scot Katie Shanahan delivered perhaps the meet's most eye-catching swim with a 200m individual medley personal best of 2:09.1, inside the world's top ten for the year. Anna Hopkin's 50m freestyle win, in 24.16, qualified her as the fastest British female sprinter of the post-Paris cycle.
The results pointed to a programme that is quietly re-tooling after the post-Paris retirements. Ben Proud remained the country's quickest over 50m freestyle, with James Wilby and Greg Butler trailing Peaty on the breaststroke side but both qualifying for Dublin. The backstroke races were the only ones where the overall depth looked thinner than two years ago, a pattern that mirrors the broader European picture.
British Swimming performance director Chris Spice briefed reporters at the mid-week press conference that the meet was 'ahead of our internal targets', citing the 22 world-top-ten times recorded in the first four days. The eventual tally pushed past 30 by Sunday evening, including three world-leading marks, according to British Swimming's own statement.
The next major assignment is the European Championships in Dublin in August, with the Beijing short-course World Championships to follow in December. For LA 2028, the London Aquatic Centre results suggest Britain's squad will again be built around Richards, Scott, Guy, Peaty and Shanahan, with a new generation led by McMillan and 17-year-old backstroker Honey Osrin coming through fast.
