Team GB swimming star details secret weapon as race for Olympics places heats up
Abbie Wood insists that the women on the British swimming team are adopting a sisterhood approach instead of the ‘claws out’ style the men use.
The 24-year-old from Buxton is backing her and her 4x200m freestyle teammates to snag an Olympic medal in Paris. She knows the competition for places will be cutthroat but out of the water, there will only be friendship and support.
“Unlike in Tokyo, now there is a lot more depth in the women’s events that means that there will be girls fighting for relay spots at trials,” she explained. “And in quite a few races there will be three good girls going for two individual spots, so it just pushes the girls at the top more.
“But it is not in a competitive, nasty way. I think girls are very much more sisterhood and the boys are able to get their claws out a bit more.
“We always got told this saying ‘boys battle to bond and girls bond to battle’. It’s not that the boys are ever rude to each other, but I think around the pool, they're very much in their own worlds.
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“Whereas the girls are very team-orientated, but don't get me wrong as soon as you're racing each other, no one's being nice to anyone.”
Wood is targeting the 200m individual medley at Paris, having missed out on a medal at Tokyo by just 0.11 seconds. But she believes winning a medal in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay is an even greater possibility. That is part of the reason why she has made a concerted effort to bond with the likes of Freya Anderson, Freya Colbert, Medi Harris and Lucy Hope over the past year.
Another factor was that in 2022, Wood suffered with glandular fever and saw her two closest friends Sarah Vasey and Molly Renshaw retire from swimming, both aged 26.
Wood added: “I think for a year in Loughborough when they quit, I was really lost and I wasn't enjoying swimming and it really showed in my swimming as well. I also got glandular fever, so I had a really low year and I was kind of on my own at Loughborough.
“But then I remember last season, normally you have process goals and targets for technique, and I just put down one of my goals was to really make an effort with the other girls. I knew I couldn't have another year of how I did and just being a lone wolf because normally, I'd like my alone time. And there was just one camp where I was like I can't do that here, so I really made new friends in them.”
Wood and the rest of relay team are using the upcoming World Championships in Doha to finetune ahead of Paris.
Wood is one of over 1,000 elite athletes on UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing her to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support – vital for her pathway to the Paris 2024 Games. And she added: “Swimming is my full-time job and without The National Lottery, I wouldn't be able to afford to do any of that.
“I moved from Buxton to Loughborough at 16 to have the best facilities and I was able to do that because I had The National Lottery’s support.
“It really allows me to focus on swimming and solely swimming and I will never take that for granted, I'm so grateful for every penny and National Lottery player.”
National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen
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