PLYMOUTH’S young swimming stars and Olympic fencer Corinna Lawrence will begin their quest for European Games glory tomorrow in Baku.
Plymouth Leander have three swimmers representing Great Britain – Laura Stephens, Joe Hulme and Tom Fannon – and all will be in action on the opening day in the pool.
Sprint specialist Fannon will be first up in the 50m butterfly. He will also compete in the one-length breaststroke on Thursday and his main event, the 50m freestyle, on Saturday.
Stephens (pictured) will compete in the 200m butterfly tomorrow. She has a best time for this event of 2:11.76, which ranks her third in the competition. Stephens will swim in heat one of three, with the semi-finals taking place in the evening and the final the following day.
Plymouth College pupil Stephens is also due to swim the 100m butterfly on Friday and the 50m butterfly on Saturday.
Hulme will be in action in the 100m backstroke competition on the opening day of the swimming in Baku. He is ranked fourth in that event, with a season best time of 55.62 seconds.
The 18-year-old has a busy European Games as he is down to also compete in the heats of the 200m IM on Wednesday, 200m backstroke on Thursday and 50m backstroke on Saturday.
Meanwhile, city-born fencer Lawrence will take part in the women’s individual epee event tomorrow.
Great Britain have sent their top fencers to Baku with an eye on next summer’s Olympic Games.
Lawrence competed at the London Games and will be keen to impress in Azerbaijan.