Schlosshan leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of Olympic dream

City of Leeds high-flier Leah Schlosshan is making life decisions with the Paris 2024 Olympics in mind. The 18-year-old broke out with 200m medley gold at last year’s European Junior Championships, touching the wall for a personal best two seconds shy of the Olympic qualification time. Ad That brought her Team GB dream in closer focus and the straight A* GCSE student has eschewed university plans to chase a place in Paris.

SwimmingKatie Shanahan is writing herself into swimming historyAN HOUR AGO «I know I'm still a junior swimmer but I definitely have my eye on Paris,» she said. «It would be great if I can qualify for that. »I'll give it my best shot next year and hopefully for many years to come.

This year is about getting into senior finals and getting as close to those top girls as possible. «I just want to swim as well as I can and be in a good place this year so I can be in an even better place next year.» Schlosshan still plans to study medicine at university but will now take a gap year and try to drive down those times alongside long-time coach Richard Denigan. She is sticking with what she knows in her home city, with a number of the country's best based at British Swimming Performance Centres in Loughborough and Bath, as well as the University of Stirling and Swim Wales High Performance Centre venues in Scotland and Wales respectively.

For now, consistency is the key as the teenager looks to reap more rewards from that long-term work with Denigan in Leeds. «The training programme has worked so well for me, I get on so well with my coach. It's an Olympic year and I think it would be unreasonable of me to change things now,» she said.