James Guy not fazed by Olympic ‘hype’ as he looks to add to medal haul in Paris
The 28-year-old will be looking to add to five Olympic medals in Paris.
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Your support makes all the difference.British swimming star James Guy will treat the Paris Olympics as “just another championships” as he bids for more gold medal success this summer.
The 28-year-old booked his spot at the 2024 Games with qualification at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London last week.
Guy, having previously competed at Rio and Tokyo, will be one of the more experienced athletes in the Team GB squad and he will head to France looking to add to a personal Olympic medal haul that includes two golds – both from Tokyo – and three silvers.
The thought of an Olympic Games may be a nervy prospect for many athletes but not for Guy, who says he has learned to look beyond the “massive hype” surrounding the event and focus solely on what happens in the pool.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m not bothered by the Olympics.
“What I’ve learned over the years is it is this massive hype but at the end of the day it is just another championships with the same everything but different pool.
“All that is different is a few little rings at the back and a few more cameras but it is hyped up to be this massive event.
“Yeah, it is exciting and the whole world are watching it but at the time you don’t think of it and you should go there do your race and get out of there.”
British swimming has gone from strength to strength in recent years and had its most successful ever Olympic performance in the pool at Tokyo, winning eight medals including four gold.
Last week, Guy swam a time of 1:45.2 in the 200m freestyle which was his fastest in eight years, and despite only managing fourth in the event, he still booked his spot for Paris.
Matt Richards earned gold in London ahead of Duncan Scott, Tom Dean and Guy but the four will be one of the most feared this summer as they look to defend their 4×200 metre freestyle relay crown.
Talking about the pressure of the Olympics, Guy added: “You are there to do a job and as I’ve got older I’ve learned from my first Olympic games to my second and now third it just gets simpler and easier every time you go.
“We are in a good place at the minute, especially British swimming as a whole. We come from 2008, 2012 to the best sport in Tokyo, there’s no reason we can’t replicate or do better in Paris.
“Aquatics GB is in a great place and the directors have made it more challenging and competitive, their plan has completely worked – I think we can do damage in Paris.”
James is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme which allows him to train full time.
More than £600 million has been raised since National Lottery funding began which has helped support elite sport and facilities, enabling more people to take part in aquatics at community level.
Guy said: “It’s definitely given me the support, it’s helped me get better as an athlete.
“At one time I wasn’t sponsored by anyone so if I needed new racing kit, I could buy the better suit, cap, etc. It just gave me the better support rather than relying on mum and dad to fund everything.”