Three Welsh athletes have been invited on to the Aquatics GB Para-Swimming World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2025 season, following the unforgettable Paralympic Games in Paris last summer.
Britain secured 18 gold medals at La Défense Arena, contributing to a total haul of 32 medals. This achievement placed them second in the swimming medal table, providing a strong foundation as the journey towards LA 2028 begins, with this year set to conclude at the Para Swimming World Championships in Singapore in September.
Rhys Darbey
Rhys Darbey makes the step up from Podium Potential after a golden campaign in Paris. The Cambrian Aquatic Academy (formerly Nofio Clwyd) swimmer competes in the S14 Intellectually Impaired para-swimming classification.
Paris 2024 marked Darbey’s Paralympic debut, and he delivered an outstanding performance. He made a remarkable comeback in the SM14 200m Individual Medley final, securing a silver medal with a lifetime-best time of 2:08.61. This achievement followed his gold medal triumph as part of Great Britain’s relay team.
Rhys’s performances make him a key figure in Britain’s para-swimming squad as he sets his sights on future success, including the Para Swimming World Championships in Singapore and the journey towards the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
Podium Potential
The current Podium Potential tier features a host of future talents and some athletes looking to make their mark on the senior international scene again this year. Both Podium and Podium Potential programme tiers receive opportunities and targeted financial assistance from UK Sport through the World Class Performance Programme’s Athlete Performance Award (APA).
The promising Welsh athletes selected for the Podium Potential tier are:
Ela Letton-Jones (Nofio Gwynedd)
A rising star in Welsh swimming, Ela Letton-Jones, competes in the S13 category, for swimmers with a visual impairment. At the 2024 Aquatics GB Championships, Letton-Jones reached the Para Paris final, competing alongside top athletes like Poppy Maskill. She finished seventh in a time of 1:15.50
Lily Rice (Pembroke & District ASC / Pembrokeshire County Swimming)
Lily Rice is a talented para-swimmer competing in the S8 classification, with a physical impairment. She clinched a bronze medal in the 100m Backstroke at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Rice continues to showcase her potential and we’re looking forward to watching her performance in the coming season.
Swim Wales CEO Fergus Feeney commented:
“We are extremely proud of the two Para swimming medals that came back to Wales from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last summer. On the back of this recent success, we are delighted to see a strong representation of Welsh athletes selected for the GB World Class Programme. This recognition is testament to the hard work, dedication and outstanding performances that we have seen from this current group of talented para-swimmers.
Swim Wales look forward to seeing their continued development and success which is supported by our own disability sport programme, our pathway and performance teams in Wales and a strong partnership with our colleagues in Aquatics GB.”
