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Freya Anderson

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Freya Anderson
MBE
Personal information
Full nameFreya Anderson
Born (2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 23)
Birkenhead, Merseyside, England
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2]
Weight12 st 4 lb; 172 lb (78 kg)[2]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubBath Performance Centre[1]
CoachDavid McNulty[1]
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m mixed medley
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m mixed medley
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Fukuoka 4×100 m mixed freestyle
European Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2018 Glasgow 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Glasgow 4×100 m mixed medley
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest 4×100 m medley
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2020 Budapest 4×200 m mixed freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rome 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2022 Rome 4×200 m mixed freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2022 Rome 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2022 Rome 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2022 Rome 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Glasgow 4×200 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Glasgow 4×100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Budapest 200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Rome 100 m freestyle
European Championships (SC)
Gold medal – first place 2019 Glasgow 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2019 Glasgow 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2023 Otopeni 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2023 Otopeni 4x50 m mixed freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2019 Glasgow 4x50 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Otopeni 4×50 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Otopeni 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Otopeni 4x50 m freestyle
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Indianapolis 100 m freestyle
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Hódmezővásárhely 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Helsinki 50 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Helsinki 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2018 Helsinki 4x100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2016 Hódmezővásárhely 4x200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2018 Helsinki 4x100 m mixed medley
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Hódmezővásárhely 4x100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Hódmezővásárhely 4x100 m medley
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Hódmezővásárhely 4x100 m mixed medley
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m mixed freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Gold Coast 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m mixed medley

Freya Ann Alexandra Anderson MBE (born 4 March 2001) is a British swimmer, known primarily for her achievements as a freestyle sprinter, especially as a relay swimmer for Great Britain.[1] Anderson achieved nine relay gold medals at three editions of the European Championships, including 5 golds in a single meet at the 2020 European Championships in Budapest, as well as two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. In July 2021, she won gold as part of the British team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay, swimming the freestyle anchor leg in the heat.

Individually, Anderson has won silver and bronze medals in the 2022 European Championships (50m), and is a three time European individual champion in short course (25m), winning both 100 m and 200 m freestyle in 2019 in Glasgow, and the 200 m again in Otopeni in 2023. Anderson also won relay gold in the mixed 4 x 50 m freestyle event, again in 2023.

Anderson is a three-time European Junior and one-time World junior champion individually.

Early life

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Anderson started swimming lessons at the age of five and began to swim competitively when she was nine. She attended St Joseph's primary school and then Upton Hall Convent School, with Frankie before winning a scholarship to Ellesmere College in Shropshire. Anderson was painfully shy as a child; she described how she almost fled College when she was caught breaking rules and using an iPad at night. At the time, she was scared of swimming and she would cry and scream when her mother took her to swimming lessons. Always tall for her age she would walk on the pool floor, and get in trouble for it. She credits swimming with boosting her confidence.[1]

She hates swimming in the sea, lakes or any open water, and is allergic to chlorine.[1]

Career

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Anderson won the 2016 British Swimming Championships 100m freestyle, with a time of 54.35. Her swim in the heats, 54.40, eclipsed British Swimming's 10 year record, and she proceeded to lower it again in the finals. Anderson won the Gold at 2016 European Junior Championships in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary, finishing 0.25 seconds ahead of the field in the 100m freestyle with a time of 54.72. Following a highly successful season Anderson won the Emerging Swimmer of the Year prize at the 2016 British Swimming Awards.[1]

As a junior swimmer, Anderson won the 100 metre freestyle event at the 2017 World Junior Swimming Championships in Indianapolis. A year later she became the European Junior Champion at the 50 metre and 100 metre freestyle distances at the European Junior Swimming Championships. She was also part of the Great Britain team that won gold in the women's medley relay and a silver in the mixed medley relay in what was her breakthrough year in to the British senior team.[3]

Anderson competed in the women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships.[4][5]

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games Anderson made her Commonwealth Games debut, competing for England and won bronze in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay events.[6]

At the 2018 European Championships, Anderson was part of the British team that won bronze in the mixed 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay, a new event at the game.[7] She was also part of the British teams that won gold in the mixed 4 x 100 metre medley relay and gold in the women's women's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay,[8][9] and ended the championships with another bronze in the women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay.[10] Anderson finished fourth in her individual 100 metre freestyle event, but set a new junior European record.

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea, Anderson won a bronze as part of the team in the 4 × 100 m mixed medley relay.[11] Anderson was named as a member of the "high quality" team to go to the postponed 2020 Olympics in April 2021. This was Anderson's first Olympics.[12]

Anderson was named as a member of the British team to go to the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. This would be her first Olympics and she joined as part of what was considered a "high quality" swimming team.[13] Anderson swam the anchor leg in the heat of the Mixed 4 x 100 metre medley relay, receiving a gold medal when the team, now with Anna Hopkin on anchor, won the final.[14]

In 2023, she won two gold medals at the 2023 British Swimming Championships in the 100 metres freestyle and the 200 metres freestyle. It was the fourth time that she had won the 100 metres event and the second time that she had won the 200 metres title.[15] Both of these were personal bests (200m freestyle1:55.89s and 53.49s in the 100m freestyle) [16]

Awards

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Anderson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to swimming.[17][18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Freya Anderson". British Swimming.
  2. ^ a b "Freya Anderson Swimming". Team England. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Freya Anderson wins three golds in last European Championships as a junior". Sky Sports. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Heats results". FINA. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  5. ^ "2017 World Aquatics Championships > Search via Athletes". Budapest 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Freya Anderson". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Results - 4 X 200m FREESTYLE RELAY MIXED - FINAL". European Championships. European Championships Management Sàrl. Archived from the original on 6 August 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  8. ^ "European Championships 2018: Peaty, Anderson, Guy & Davies win mixed relay gold". BBC News. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Results - 4 X 200m FREESTYLE RELAY WOMEN - FINAL". European Championships. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  10. ^ Ashenden, Mark (9 August 2018). "Freya Anderson wins relay bronze to end European Swimming Championships". Sky Sports.
  11. ^ "Watch: GB clinch bronze in 4x100m medley relay". BBC Sport. 24 July 2019.
  12. ^ "'Exceptionally high-quality' team named for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Swim England Competitive Swimming Hub. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  13. ^ "'Exceptionally high-quality' team named for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Swim England Competitive Swimming Hub. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Olympic gold for Chorley's Anna Hopkin". Lancashire Evening Post. 31 July 2021.
  15. ^ "British Swimming Championships 2023". British Swimming. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. ^ Race, Retta (5 July 2023). "Freya Anderson Drops 100 Free To Focus On 200 & Relays For Fukuoka". SwimSwam. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  17. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N16.
  18. ^ "New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame". BBC Sport. 31 December 2021.
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