Former Hoylake swimming club member Freya Anderson has been wished luck ahead of her participation at the Olympics in Paris.
The 23-year-old, who began her journey to the top of the sport with lessons at Calday Grange Swimming Pool, went on to become a member of Hoylake ASC.
At the Tokyo games in 2021, she helped Team GB secure gold in the mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay, after swimming a then Olympic record time to put them first into the final, and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours for services to swimming.
She followed this up in 2022 by winning six European and four Commonwealth medals, and in 2023 claimed her first World Aquatics Championship medal of her career.
Freya qualified for the Team GB squad despite her preparations being disrupted by recovery from a bout of glandular fever at the start of the year.
Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Cherry Povall, has wished her good luck, saying: “I am incredibly proud to know that Wirral will once again be represented at the world’s greatest celebration of sporting excellence.
“Freya has worked incredibly hard and sacrificed so much to earn her place in Paris and I’m sure I speak for everyone in Wirral when I wish her the very best of luck.”
UPDATE: 02/08/2024: Freya was part of the squad that finished 7th in the women’s 4 x 100m Medley Relay, and 5th in the women’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay.
Photo credit: Aquatics GB