James Wilby (born 12 November 1993) is a British competitiveswimmer who specialises in thebreaststroke. Wilby is the2018 Commonwealth Games champion in 200 metre breaststroke, the2022 Commonwealth Games champion in 100 metre breaststroke, and the2022 European champion in 200 metre breaststroke. He formed part of the Great Britain team that wonWorld Championship gold in the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay in 2019, and the England team that won theCommonwealth Games Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay in2014 and2022.[2]
He has representedGreat Britain at the Olympic Games, winning a silver in the2020 Summer Olympics as a heat swimmer in the men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay, threeFINA World Aquatics Championships, winning a further silver in the 100m breaststroke, and two bronze medals, andEngland at threeCommonwealth Games, where he has won four other medals aside from his four gold medals.
Wilby's career has overlapped those of several other internationally significant British breaststrokers, notably Olympic and Commonwealth medalistMichael Jamieson, Commonwealth and European championRoss Murdoch and multiple Olympic and World championAdam Peaty. In 2022 Wilby became the first swimmer to defeat Peaty in an international 100 metres breaststroke race since Peaty first won the World title, claiming the Commonwealth gold medal in the event in Birmingham in 2022. Weeks later, he won his first individual European title in the200 metres breaststroke.
Finishing the 2009 season with a modest personal best time of 2:32.64 in the 200 metres breaststroke, Wilby took a chunk off this in May, swimming a 2:26.60 to qualify for the National Youth Championships. A then 16-year-old Wilby came in under the radar, setting a new personal best of 2:24.89 in the heats – qualifying 6th fastest for the semi-finals. A small improvement of 2:24.70 was enough to finish in 9th place in the semi-final, beating a then-unknown Adam Peaty. In the final, Wilby swam the best race of his life so far, again surpassing his PB and winning the National 15/16 years title in an impressive 2:20.13.[3]
Wilby went on to win bronze in the 100 metres breaststroke with a time of 1:04.57 – the gold on this occasion going toRio Olympian Craig Benson.[4]
At the2014 Commonwealth Games, Wilby competed in all three breaststroke events; qualifying for the final in the 200 m - where he placed 6th in a time of 2:11.53 and the 100 m where he placed 7th in a time of 1:01.07. He was also part of the English team that won gold in the4 × 100 meter medley relay event, swimming in the heats but not in the final.[5]
At the2018 Commonwealth Games, Wilby won a surprise gold in the200 metre breaststroke event[6] with a winning time of 2:08.05, which is the fourth fastest time in the world this year (correct as of 3 August 2018).[7][8] He also won a silver behind compatriotAdam Peaty in the 100 meter breaststroke with a personal best time of 59.43 seconds,[9] and a bronze in the 50 metre breaststroke.[10]
At the2018 European Aquatics Championships, Wilby won heat four in the100 metre breaststroke in a new personal best time of 59.12 qualifying second fastest for the final in 59.23. In the final, Wilby set a personal best time of 58.64 to win the silver medal,[11] and became the equal fourth fastest 100m breaststroker in history; behind Brendan Rickard (58.58), Cameron Van Der Burgh's Olympic Gold from 2012 (58.44) and the winner of the European 100m title itself, Adam Peaty, who won in a world record time of 57.10*.[12] The following day he added another silver medal in the200 metre breaststroke.[13]
Wilby opened his 2019 long course season, with a 59.42 in the 100m and 2:09.71 in the 200m, taking three British University titles and records.[14] At the World Championship Trials, Wilby took silver behind Adam Peaty, in the 100m in the third fastest time in the world this year of 58.66, then took the British title in the 200m with a time of 2:07.49.[15] Wilby also had a 27.20 heat swim in the 50 breaststroke.
At the2019 World Aquatics Championships, Wilby won his first World Championships medal after he won silver behind Peaty.[16] He became the equal third fastest 100m breaststroke swimmer in history with a time of 58.46 that matches Cameron Van Der Bergh's London Olympic gold medal swim, which was a world record at the time.[citation needed] He also won a bronze as part of the team in the4 × 100 m mixed medley relay. He swam in the heats but not in the final.[17][18] Wilby also swam in the heats of themen's 4 × 100 meter medley relay.[19] The final was won byLuke Greenbank,Adam Peaty,Duncan Scott,Duncan Scott in a European record time of three minutes, 28.10 seconds, and the gold medal is Britain's first in the event at the World Championships.[20]
Wilby joined the US-based team -New York Breakers - for the second season of theInternational Swimming League.[21]
Wilby was one of the 2019 individual world championship medal-winners who were pre-selected for the postponed2020 Tokyo Olympics.[22]
In May 2021, Wilby won a bronze medal in100m breaststroke at theEuropean Championships.[23]
At the2022 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Wilby won a bronze as part of the team inMen's 4 × 100 metre medley relay.[24]
At the2022 Commonwealth Games, Wilby pulled off a surprise win in100 m breaststroke, beating reigning champion Adam Peaty to fourth.[25]
In 2023, he won two gold medals at the2023 British Swimming Championships in the100 metres breaststroke and the200 metres breaststroke. It was the first time he had won the 100 metres event but the fourth consecutive time that he had won the 200 metres title.[26]
Wilby won the 200 metres breaststroke at the2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships[27] and was subsequently named in the British team for the2024 Summer Olympics.[28] At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, he participated in themen's 100 metre breaststroke competition, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals.
| Event | Time | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:07.49 | Tolcross, Glasgow | 19 April 2019 |
| 100 m breaststroke | 58.46 | Gwangju, South Korea | 22 July 2019 |
| 50 m breaststroke | 27.20 | Tolcross, Glasgow | 17 April 2019 |
Wilby's 100 metres breaststroke personal best of 58.46 puts him second on theBritish all-time list behindworld record holder Adam Peaty.[29]Over 200 metres, Wilby is ranked third on the British all-time list, 0.06 behind the2012 Olympic Silver medal winning performance fromMichael Jamieson, and Ross Murdoch, who set the British record on his way to triumph at the2014 Commonwealth Games.[30]
Wilby made a huge breakthrough at the start of the 2018 season in the 50 metres, smashing through the 28-second barrier for the first time in his career. Then in 2019, took another 0.17 off his best time to become the second fastest in British history, behind World record holder Adam Peaty.[31]
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