Dan Jervis Moves From Pool To Ocean With British Team At World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2023 In Funchal
Dan Jervis will make the switch from the pool to the ocean after being selected to the British team for the fifth and final leg of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2023 in Funchal next month.
The Welshman will join Tokyo Olympian Hector Pardoe, Tobias Robinson and Nathan Hughes with Alice Dearing, Amber Keegan, Leah Crisp and Ella Dyson comprising the women’s team for the event in Madeira from 2-3 December.
The competition serves as the main selection event for the Doha World Championships in February 2024, with Pardoe and Keegan already meeting the criteria following their performances in Fukuoka in July, where both finished in the top 18 in the 10k.
(l-r) Leah Crisp, Hector Pardoe & Amber Keegan: Photo Courtesy: British Swimming
Eilat had been scheduled to stage the event which was relocated to the Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean following the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestine.
The fourth leg, slated for August in the River Seine in Paris, was cancelled due to untenable conditions at the venue. Setubal, Portugal, hosted Leg 3 in May, after stops in Egypt’s Soma Bay and Golfo Aranci, Italy.
It sees double Commonwealth 1500 free medallist Jervis move outdoors four months after finishing 14th in the 1500 and 23rd over 800 at the Fukuoka worlds.
British Swimming Performance Pathway Lead for Swimming, Nathan Hilton, said:
“Obviously there has been some recent logistical challenges surrounding the relocation of this event, fortunately they were resolved quickly to enable the athletes to focus on their preparation,” he said.
“The event is our final selection race for the 2024 Doha World Championships and with eight British athletes attending the event, our team will be competitive. With many other nations using the event as their selection race/final prep race for Doha, it will be a very strong race but I am confident that the athletes will rise to the challenge and continue the positive upward trend we have seen from our marathon swimmers over the last 12 months.”
The British Swimming team for leg five of the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup 2023 in Funchal, Portugal:
Leah Crisp, University of Bath
Alice Dearing, Loughborough University
Ella Dyson, Wycombe District
Nathan Hughes, Swim Wales High Performance Centre
Daniel Jervis, Swim Wales High Performance Centre
Amber Keegan, City of Sheffield
Hector Pardoe, Loughborough University
Tobias Robinson, Loughborough University