- Written by Brent Pilnick
- bbc sports
image source, Getty Images
Philip Nowacki is one of Britain's best young breaststrokers
Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki has a chance to qualify for the Olympics, his coach says.
“If you're good at your sport and professionally and listen to the people around you, everything is possible,” coach Nathan Jegou said.
“From his point of view, he's 16 now and in four years he'll be 20 and in eight years he'll be 24, which is his peak swimming age, so I think it's a good age.
“You could also argue that the next two cycles are very important for him and his swimming career, if he wants to choose that,” he told BBC Sport.
Filip Nowacki 7th, Adam Peaty qualifies for the Olympics with world's fastest time
Nowacki lost in the final to Olympic champion Adam Peaty, but hopes his performance at the London Aquatic Center will be enough to earn him selection for the European Junior Championships later this year.
He is also likely to be part of Jersey's squad if the Commonwealth Games go ahead in 2026, leaving Jersey in the summer to join Millfield, where Olympic champions James Guy and Matt Richards have honed their skills.・Preparing to move to school.
“He broke the British junior under-16 record, broke two age group records and achieved some short course age group records in the winter. So it shows he's on a good path. It speaks for itself,” said Tigers Swim Club Head Coach Jegou. Added.
“He is calm. He knows it is a long journey and tomorrow is not everything.
“He's thinking ahead and there are some good players who are a little bit younger than him and are following him and continuing to break records.
“I think that's a good thing and it means it's keeping him on his toes, but from his point of view he's looking at his next target, so he was targeting this match. But there were some parts that were a little bit awkward, I didn't feel completely 100%, and I still performed really well.”
