Former Olympian pledges to diversify swimming

History-making marathon swimmer Alice Dearing has pledged to continue championing diversity in the sport after announcing her retirement.

The 27-year-old was first black woman to represent Team GB in swimming at an Olympic Games when she competed in the open water category at Tokyo in 2020.

Dearing, from Birmingham, has used her platform to co-found the Black Swimming Association (BSA) to tackle the barriers that limit people from African, Caribbean and Asian heritage from taking up aquatics.

She told BBC Radio WM there was still decades of work ahead to boost participation.

“It’s not a quick fix, we’re not talking five years, we’re talking probably more than one or two generations,” she said.

“It will take work, which will happen long after our lives at the BSA but it’s important work to be done and we’re talking about hopefully saving lives.”