Jersey's Nowacki picked for GB world-class swimming squad

Filip Nowacki has broken British age group records in 100m and 200m breaststroke

Jersey's Filip Nowacki has been named in the 2025 Aquatics GB world-class programme.

Nowacki broke the British age group record for 16-year-olds in the 100m and 200m breaststroke last year.

Now 17, he won a silver medal at the European Junior Championships over the longer distance last summer.

In 2023, he became the first Jersey sportsperson to win three Commonwealth Youth Games medals and also took silver at the European Youth Olympics.

He has been selected as a Podium Potential athlete, meaning he is thought to have the ability to make the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which allows him access to top tier coaching from Aquatics GB.

"It's a great acknowledgement of his performances and his rise up through the British swimming ranks," his coach at Jersey's Tigers Swimming Club coach Nathan Jegou told BBC Sport.

"That was topped off last year with a medal at the European Juniors.

"It's validation of all the hard work he's done and also all the hard work that is coming his way - once you get recognised like that you've got to keep those performances up and keep driving forward."

Nowacki could feature for Jersey at this summer's Island Games in Orkney as well as next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He regularly returns to the island to train when he is not studying at Millfield School in Somerset.

Jegou thinks the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be a great chance to show his talents on the full international stage:

"We're blessed in Jersey that we have the Commonwealth Games in 2026, that's a big senior international meet coming our way, hopefully he's part of that Jersey team," he said.

"This year his main aim is European Juniors and World Juniors again, and if he swims well in the British Championships in April you never know, there might be a senior meet on the horizon with Great Britain as well.

"He's very level-headed, he knows education's important, he knows family's important and he's very calm and he doesn't need to change that - actually he's better off staying the way he is, not thinking too far ahead and just keep doing what he's doing."