“As current Head of Talent for Swim England, the opportunity to be Team Leader at a home Games is an incredible privilege.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our aligned pathway there will be swimmers and para-swimmers on our team in Birmingham that have come through the whole swimming journey and to see them thriving there will be amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2022 Games will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase England Swimming to a home crowd.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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James Wilby: Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n
Team England swimmers claimed 24 podium places two years ago with nine golds, 10 silvers and five bronze medals.<\/p>\n
James Wilby<\/strong> had a standout meet, taking 200 breaststroke gold, 100 silver and 50 bronze as well as swimming the heats as Team England took silver in the 4×1 medley relay.<\/p>\n
Robins cast his mind back to the Games in 2018 while also acknowledging the strength and depth of the opposition they will face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved it two years ago \u2013 it was the quickest and longest two weeks of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the moment, it goes in slow motion \u2013 with hindsight it went really quick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience I had in Australia will enable me to be at the forefront of anything that comes out of the woodwork in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would certainly try and replicate the organisation, culture and atmosphere as we will need to be on top of our game \u2013 it\u2019s not going to be an easy ride as the Australians and Canadians will be coming in force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be more eyes on us as you would expect but this is an opportunity to work with some pretty good people on home soil and that seemed too good an opportunity to turn down.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Countdown To A Home Games<\/h3>\n
With 658 days until the Games begin on Thursday 28 July, 2022, all the Team England sport leads are meeting virtually for the first time on Thursday 8 October.<\/p>\n
Construction is under way on a brand new facility in the Sandwell area of Birmingham, a city in the English midlands.<\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Birmingham 2022<\/p><\/div>\n
Robins hopes that is one of many things that can galvanise the athletes into producing their best Commonwealth performance yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith it being a home Games, a home crowd, a brand new pool, that is so exciting \u2013 the swimmers will relish it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to have the best Games ever, whether it\u2019s gold medals, the number of \u00a0medals won or season\u2019s bests \u2013 we want to be successful and with the preparation planned, supported by Sport England, Commonwealth Games England and British Swimming \u00a0we will be.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to developing the culture with our staff and athletes that will enable us to do that and we\u2019ll look to create the positive environment where success is inevitable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have a great team around me to make sure that we are all on song and have the best environment for our swimmers to perform. If we take care of the little things, the bigger things will take care of themselves.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How Tokyo 2020 Postponement Is A Positive<\/h3>\n
So too does Robins believe that the one-year delay to the Olympics can be beneficial after Tokyo 2020 was pushed back to July 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking the delay of the Olympic Games as a positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives the younger members of the Olympic team and the performance squads another year to prepare.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the more established swimmers might now be potentially thinking they could carry on for another two years to perform in Birmingham at a home games and those sort of situations don\u2019t come around very often.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Chef de mission Mark England<\/strong> said:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cTeam Leaders play a pivotal role in the preparation of athletes and support staff in the lead up to and during the Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really encouraging that we have such a high-quality group as we prepare our sports for the Games in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m confident they\u2019ll ensure every athlete has everything they need to showcase their talent and achieve performance success on the home stage for Team England in less than two years\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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