Adam Ramsay-Peaty scored his second national title on the second day of competition at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships at the London Aquatics Centre earlier today, winning the Men’s 50m Breaststroke having taking victory in the 100m event yesterday.
Not dissimilar to yesterday’s race, Ramsay-Peaty was pushed hard by youngsters Filip Nowacki and Max Morgan respectively, with Scotland’s Archie Goodburn finishing in joint third alongside Morgan.
With the 50m breaststroke now added to the programme for the LA Olympic Games 2028, both Ramsay-Peaty and Nowacki will be able to contest the event at the upcoming European Aquatics Championships having posted a qualifying time in London.
After the race, Ramsay-Peaty said: “I’ve really applied myself mentally as well as I could, especially these past few weeks, to get this result. I’m in a very good place, but my job now is to go back to the drawing board and look at how we can improve, because as you know I like to be dominant. Sometimes it’s not enough to win, and that’s testament to who I am. I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done if I had a different attitude, and if I thought gold was enough. So I have to set these markers for myself.”
The action in the pool then moved onto Men’s 200m Butterfly where Duncan Scott retained his title, seeing off Edward Mildred by a fraction. Both swimmers secured their places for Paris with their respective times, while Luke Greenbank completed the podium taking third place.
Scott reflected: “I’m happy with that, happy we were able to consolidate on last year, obviously that was a big PB. It’s one of those where you are sometimes weary of an outlier swim like that so to be able to consolidate is always important.
“I pride myself in doing better in the summer than what I’ve done here, and not getting too carried away with what happens in April. It’s always important to go head-to-head with people because come the summer it’s going to be some tough tight racing.”
In the Women’s Mixed Classification Backstroke, it was world record holder Bethany Firth (S14) who took the victory, followed by Alice Tai (S8) and Poppy Maskill (S14).
Firth said: “It feels amazing - I set that world record in 2016, so 10 years ago, and I’m now 30 and I have a baby, so to come back and race and know that I can still do it and that I still have it, it’s just a message to everyone that we can have babies, we can be older, and still compete at this level.
“My daughter has made me love this sport more. I feel like as athletes we’re so hard on ourselves and watching her grow up and change has really changed me and I think that shows in the water.”
In the Women’s 100m Backstroke, it was Lauren Cox who both won the race and qualified for Paris, followed to the finish line by Blythe Kinsman in second and Katie Shanahan in third.
After the race, Cox said: “I think I’m capable of so much more in the 100, and it’s just about getting my nerves under control so tonight was a really big step in the right direction for me, and to get that time here, when I’m the most nervous I’ll ever be, fills me with a lot of confidence.”
Max Litchfield was victorious in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley, posting a time good enough to qualify him for Paris. Scottish duo Charlie Hutchison and George Smith qualified in second and third place respectively, falling slightly outside automatic qualification for the Europeans but still with the Commonwealth Games in their sights.
Speaking on his qualification for the European Championships, Litchfield said: “It’s a relief, and nice to have it at the start of the week. I swam a pretty good time, so I’m pretty happy with that.”
Amalie Smith smashed her PB in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley and easily secured her place in Paris. Suzie McNair was second and Evi Mackie finished in third.
Amelie Blocksidge, aged 17, added an impressive fourth national Women’s 1500m Freestyle title to her collection. Abbie Roscoe finished in second and Lucy Parsons in third place.
The racing resumes tomorrow, where eight more National Champions to be crowned. Every A finals session from this year’s Aquatics GB Swimming Championships will be broadcast live from 7.45pm across BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, as well as live coverage of heats (9.30am) and finals (6pm onwards) on the Aquatics GB YouTube channel.
The Aquatics GB social media channels will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes content throughout the meet.
Full results, start lists and schedules are available on the Swimming Results website.
Limited tickets are still available across the 2026 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships through SEE Tickets