Agency :
Alice Dearing is set to become the first black woman to represent Team Great Britain (GB) in an Olympic swimming event after sealing her place at Tokyo 2020 in Saturday’s qualifying event in Portugal.
The 24-year-old finished fourth in Setubal in a 10 kilometre marathon race in which the top nine finishers would earn a place at the Games in Tokyo, which get underway next month.
Fellow British swimmer Danielle Huskisson was vying with Dearing for the one spot available to each nation, but she ultimately finished 13th in the field of 47.
Dearing, a world junior champion in 2016, finished behind winner Anna Olasz of Hungary, Spain’s Paola Ruiz Bravo and Canada’s Kate Farley Sanderson.
Speaking to British Swimming after the event, Dearing said: “I’m really excited, relieved, grateful, it’s a huge mix of emotions.
“I can’t quite believe it, I’ve been daydreaming about this day for the past year and a half, ever since the first lockdown came in.”
