Wilby excited for ‘massively different’ Games

Team GB swimmer James Wilby has said the Paris Olympics will feel like his first Games.

The 30-year-old breaststroker competed at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and finished sixth and fifth, respectively, in the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals and won silver in the 100m medley.

However, those Games were staged behind closed doors because of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions in Japan, and Wilby is now looking forward to a new experience.

“I think it’s going to feel massively different. It’s almost like a first Olympics for me in a sense,” he told BBC Radio York.

“There are some people on the team who are doing their third Games. They had the experience of Rio in 2016, which was a huge event and celebration.

“I’m sure the Japanese had huge ambitions for Tokyo, but it was numbed down and it was challenging. We had testing procedures to follow and strict abilities in terms of where we were able to go, and we were out straight after we’d finished competing.

“I’m so excited to experience the athletes’ village and going to see fellow Team GB athletes competing.”

Wilby, who beat Adam Peaty to win gold in the 100m breaststroke at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, was given a coaches’ discretionary pick after winning the 200m breaststroke title at the British Championships earlier this year.

He said that competing in the same event as Peaty, the reigning two-time Olympic champion in 100m breaststroke, was “a delicate balance”.

“He’s not invincible, I was able to pip him in 2022, but he is an incredible athlete.

“Having him in one of my individual events is a challenge but we’ve been able to have GB one-twos in the past.

“The other element in the past few years is relays and team events and there is an advantage of having high quality individuals in your event even if you have to compete against them occasionally.

“It’s a difficult situation I suppose but we make a strong relay team together. It’s a delicate balance.”

Paris ‘very likely’ to be final Olympics

He will be 34 for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and acknowledged this could be his last chance to compete in a Games.

The Glasgow-born Loughborough graduate has said he had previously considered retiring after the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but that plan is now uncertain as there is currently no host for them.

“I think it’s very likely to be my last Olympic Games. I’ve achieved a lot, and I think another four years is probably a stretch.

“I never like to be definite, but I suppose at some point that is going to happen.

“I love the Commonwealth Games, and there is a part of me that had 2026 as an amazing time to finish, but that’s up in the air at moment. There’ll certainly be an extended break after these Games.”

He added: “I’m excited to know what the next chapter is for me. I’ve been given so much by this sport, and I’m interested to explore ways I could give back.”