Team Bath’s Jack Skerry marked a significant milestone by reaching his first senior final for Aquatics GB during the Paris 2026 European Aquatics Championships. Based at the University of Bath and supported by a US Foundation Scholarship, Skerry showcased his progress with a remarkable new personal best time of 53.21 seconds in the 100m backstroke semi-final. This impressive performance earned him third place in the semi-final and secured his place in the final held on Sunday. In the final race, he completed the event in 53.65 seconds, finishing eighth overall.
In addition to his 100m backstroke efforts, Skerry competed three times in the 50m backstroke event. He was among three swimmers who posted a time of 24.90 seconds in the heats. In the subsequent swim-off, he improved to 24.75 seconds, which earned him second place and advanced him to the semi-finals. There, he finished 15th with a time of 24.82 seconds.
Bath Performance Centre teammate Matthew Ward also made a strong showing. Ward narrowly missed out behind Skerry in the 50m backstroke heats with a time of 25.18 seconds but advanced to the 100m backstroke semi-finals. His time of 53.65 seconds placed him 12th overall in that event.
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Meanwhile, teammates Josh Gammon and Jacob Peters both demonstrated excellent form in butterfly events. Gammon recorded a new personal best of 23.37 seconds in the 50m butterfly and achieved a season’s best of 52.12 seconds in the 100m butterfly, a time matched by Peters.
Representing the Netherlands, University of Bath Student Swimming Club graduate Hendrik van der Leest, who recently completed his degree in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, competed in Paris as well. Coached by Mark Skimming and Andrei Vorontsov, he finished 26th in the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:00.46 and 31st in the 200m backstroke in 2:00.33. Notably, Van der Leest had set a new personal best of 2:00.11 in the 200m butterfly while qualifying at the Dutch National Championships in July.
Collectively, these performances highlight the growing experience and success of University of Bath-based swimmers on the international stage, promising a bright future for Aquatics GB and their respective nations.