Eurosport's Future Stars for 2016: Ben Proud

Nominated by Eurosport swimming commentator Simon Dos Santos, who said: “British swimming is on the crest of a wave. The young swimmers of Team GB, products of the development programme put in place for the 2012 Olympic Games, are now reaching maturity. If Adam Peaty and James Guy in particular have already peaked with their World Championship golds, another swimmer of that promising generation is continuing to grow in the shadow of the best sprinters in the world. He is Benjamin Proud, 21.

“The freestyle and butterfly specialist made a name for himself at the age of 18 by claiming his first national title, breaking a 10-year old record as he did so. Following that, 2014 was a year of revelation.

“At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Proud won two gold medals against world-class competition. In the 50m freestyle he got the best of Australian duo McEvoy and Magnussen, whilst in the 50m butterfly he overcame two huge names in South-African swimming, Roland Schoeman and Chad Le Clos. In 2014, the year concluded with Proud claiming his first European Championships medal in Berlin, again in the 50m butterfly.

“His progression since then has been constant. At the World Championships in Kazan a few months ago, he reached a new level by qualifying for the finals of both the 50m freestyle and the 50m butterfly. Proud then went on to round off 2015 in emphatic style, setting three new British short course records at the 2015 ASA Winter Meet in mid-December. However, 2016 can now be the year of affirmation for the swimmer from Plymouth.

“As the 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event, his priority should be the 50m freestyle at the Rio Games. Remarked upon for the efficiency and finesse of his swimming technique, Proud is perhaps slightly lacking in power, and as such his freestyle personal best of 21.76sec is at risk of not quite being enough for a medal at Rio.

“However, the European Championships in London next May should suit him perfectly. In front of a home crowd, I think he will have it in him to win his first European freestyle medal in the 50m freestyle, and if he enters the 50m butterfly, I believe he can win the Gold for the first time in this event too. A result of this calibre would no doubt give him all the confidence he needs to perform well in Rio, and could be a catalyst for a great performance on the world’s biggest stage.”