Laura Stephens: From hating water to Paris 2024 Olympics swimming medal hope

Stephens has come a long way from her county championship days with Colchester Swimming Club but the journey has come with obstacles – and not just her childhood dislike of the water.

“She had quite a few challenges – she was asthmatic, she’s coeliac – and nothing was going to stand in her way,” Young said.

“It was just written through her, like a stick of rock, champion was written through her.”

Stephens made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, finishing sixth in her semi-final and missing out on a spot in the final by a second.

Now, she will travel to this summer’s Games in Paris with much higher expectations.

“In Tokyo, I didn’t perform exactly how I wanted to,” Stephens said.

“That’s something that I’m definitely looking to rectify this summer – to be in the final and hopefully be in the fight for a medal in the 200m butterfly.”

Young, who coached Stephens from the age of nine to 14, was with the swimmer when she had her first taste of the Games at the 2012 Olympic qualifiers.

“I remember we were allowed to go in before and we were allowed to go to all the pools and we jumped up on the podium and took photos,” Young said.

“It was absolutely fabulous to then think she was at the 2020 Olympics and now Paris.

“From those Olympic trials when she was a little girl, she has now made that journey.”

Stephens’ story is featured on Hometown Hero, available to listen to now on BBC Sounds.