Eva Okaro, a talented swimmer from Repton School, has made history by earning a spot on Team Great Britain (GB) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She will be the first Black woman to represent GB in the pool at the Olympics and the fourth Black swimmer to join a British Olympics squad.
Additionally, Okaro is Repton School’s first-ever Olympic swimmer. Her achievement highlights the remarkable rise of Repton Swimming since the School’s performance programme began in 2019.
Okaro Secures Silver at the Aquatics GB Championships
Aged 17, Okaro will be one of the youngest competitors at the Olympics this summer. The swimmer is currently studying for her A Levels at Repton Sixth Form. She has previously competed for GB and England at a junior level in various international meets.
Okaro secured her place on Team GB after competing at the Aquatics GB Championships in April 2024 at the London Aquatics Centre. She took silver in the women’s 50-metre freestyle, setting a personal best time of 24.96.
Okaro also won silver in the women’s 100-metre freestyle, with a personal best time of 54.46. She placed ahead of Freya Anderson, who won gold for GB in the mixed 4 x 100-metre medley relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
In addition to Okaro’s success in the women’s freestyle events, she was within the top four finishers for the relay selection.
22 other members of Repton Swimming Club also took part in the Aquatics GB Championships, including 13-year-old Repton pupil Austyn M. The youngest male swimmer at the Championships, Austyn came away with a new British Age Group Record of 2:07.62 in the 200-metre backstroke.
Okaro recently represented GB at the 2023 Ontario Junior International in Canada. She won several medals, including:
- Gold in the mixed 4 x 50-metre freestyle.
- Gold in the women’s 4 x 100-metre freestyle.
- Gold in the women’s 4 x 100-metre medley. Okaro also helped the team set a new European junior record time in this event.
- Gold in the women’s 50-metre butterfly.
- Silver in the women’s 50-metre and 100-metre freestyle events. Okaro broke the British junior record with a time of 24.77 during the heats of the 50-metre event.
Okaro Joins Elite Ranks of Team GB’s Black Swimmers
Okaro’s inclusion in Team GB’s swimming squad makes her one of a handful of Black swimmers to ever join the team. Kevin Burns, the first Black swimmer in history to join Team GB, competed in the Montreal 1976 Olympics.
Most recently, Alice Dearing broke barriers as Team GB’s first-ever Black female swimmer when she competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Dearing competed in the 10km marathon swim, finishing 19th.
Marathon swimming takes places in open water environments like the sea, lakes, and rivers. However, Okaro will be Team GB’s first Black female swimmer to compete in pool events.
Okaro Leads Historic Olympic Journey for Repton Swimming
Okaro is the first Repton pupil to take part in the Olympics while still at school since 2008, when Charlotte Craddock joined the GB hockey squad at the Beijing Olympics. While Repton has a long history of pupils and alumni competing at the Olympic Games, Okaro is the School’s first swimming pupil to qualify for the Olympics.
Repton’s Director of Swimming Ash Morris said Okaro’s “remarkable achievement” is “a proud moment” for the School. Morris added that her selection is a testament to her “race mindset and competitive nature.”
Okaro’s success speaks to the outstanding environment Repton School has developed to help young athletes achieve their goals. The School’s six-lane, 25-metre pool facility was the main training venue for World Champion Adam Peaty in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Peaty will join Okaro in Team GB’s swimming squad for the Paris Games.
Repton launched its performance swimming programme, a Swim England-affiliated club, five years ago. With exceptional facilities and talented coaches, the programme is one of the best in the UK, providing both first-rate training and education.
Twice a week, Repton’s most promising swimmers receive pool sessions with specialist strength and conditioning coaches. These pupils also have access to a bespoke strength and conditioning gym in the School’s sports clinic to help with physical progress and recovery.
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