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Benjamin Proud (born 21 September 1994) is an English competitive
swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
, representing Great Britain at the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
, the
FINA World Aquatics Championships The World Aquatics Championships, formerly the FINA World Championships, are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are stag ...
and
LEN European Aquatics Championships The European Aquatics Championships is the continental Aquatics championship for Europe, which is organised by LEN—the governing body for aquatics in Europe. The Championships are currently held every two years (in even years) and since 2022, ...
, and England at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
. Proud specialises in sprint freestyle and butterfly races, specifically the 50-metre distance in both. He is the 2022 World Champion in the 50 metre freestyle, his second long course world title. He is the 2017 world champion in the 50-metre butterfly. He is only the third male swimmer to be simultaneously short-course and long-course World Champion at 50 metre freestyle, after
César Cielo César Augusto Cielo Filho (, born 10 January 1987) is a Brazilian former competitive swimmer who specialized in sprint events. He is the most successful Brazilian swimmer in history, having obtained three Olympic medals, winning six individu ...
and
Florent Manaudou ] Florent Manaudou (; born 12 November 1990) is a French competitive swimming (sport), swimmer, an Olympic champion of the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, and the younger brother of Laure Manaudou, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist ...
. in 2024, at his third attempt he won his first Olympic medal, a silver, in the Swimming at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 metre freestyle, 50 metre freestyle at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Proud holds two British national records, as well as being a double
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
champion in both the 50 m butterfly (2014 and 2022) and 50 m freestyle (2014, 2018 and 2022) events. He was European Champion over 50 metres freestyle in 2018 and 2022, and was part of the 4 x 100 medley team from Great Britain which won European gold in 2014.


Early life and education

Proud was born in London on 21 September 1994 to Nic and Sally Proud. The family moved to
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
when he was five months old, and he grew up in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. He has a brother, Oliver. He attended the Alice Smith School from kindergarten until year 12 of the school. At Alice Smith, he competed for the school and was trained by Francis Kiu, a professional Malaysian swimmer. He swam for the school swimming team, KLASS Torpedoes, representing them at many international swim meets. He swam at the Malaysian Open, winning the 50 m butterfly and placing second in the 50 m freestyle. His many swim meets across Southeast Asia included the Flying Fish meet in Phuket, Thailand. In 2011, when he was 16, he returned to England to pursue swimming as a career, and joined Plymouth College as a swimming scholar. After finishing school, he attended University of St Mark & St John where he studied for a Sports Development & Coaching degree. Proud was coached by Jon Rudd at the Plymouth Leander Swimming Programme in England, before he moved to train at the Energy Standard International Swim Club in Turkey in 2017.


Swimming career

Proud won a silver medal in the 50 m butterfly -his strongest event- in the European Junior Championships, which put him on the map as the fastest British sprinter at the British Gas International Meet in 2013, winning a gold in the butterfly, and going on later to win a silver in the 50 m freestyle in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. After his initial victories, he rose through the ranks and broke the decade-long 50 m butterfly standing record twice, in the semis and final, giving him his first British Gas Swimming Championship title at the age of 19. He went on the break his personal best times for the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events, earning himself a silver and bronze, as well as a spot on the British team for the 2013 World Championships being held in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. Unsurprisingly, Proud did incredibly, finishing 18th in the 50 m freestyle, and 11th in the 50 m butterfly. In 2014, still only 19 years old, Proud won his first senior international medals on his Commonwealth debut for England at Glasgow. The following month, Proud won a gold in the 4 × 100 m medley relay and a bronze in the 50 m butterfly for Team GB at his first
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
. In the
2016 European Aquatics Championships The 2016 European Aquatics Championships took place from 9 to 22 May 2016 in London, United Kingdom, in the London Aquatics Centre. It was the thirty second edition of the event, and the second held in the same year as a Summer Olympics. Hosts Gr ...
in London, he won two bronze medals, first in 50m butterfly, then in 50m freestyle. Proud represented Great Britain in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle events at the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
.


2017

At the
2017 World Aquatics Championships The 17th FINA World Championships () were held in Budapest, Hungary from 14 to 30 July 2017.
, Proud qualified as the fourth fastest swimmer at the 50m butterfly semi-finals, but won a surprise gold at the final with a national record time of 22.75 seconds. He won a further bronze in the 50m freestyle in 21.43 seconds.


2018–2019

At the
2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
held at the Gold Coast, Australia, Proud won silver as part of the relay team with David Cumberlidge, Jarvis Parkinson and James Guy that came second in the freestyle events. He broke his own Games record in the heats of the 50m freestyle with 21.45 seconds, then 21.30 in the semi-finals and went on to win the final in 21.35. He also won a silver in the medley with
Adam Peaty Adam George Peaty (born 28 December 1994) is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the sprint breaststroke events. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first by a male British swimmer i ...
, James Guy and
Luke Greenbank Luke Greenbank (born 17 September 1997) is an English professional swimmer who specialises in backstroke. A medalist in the 200 metre backstroke at the Olympic Games and the World and European championships, he also swam the first leg in the 20 ...
. He broke his own 50m freestyle British record at the Sette Colli meet in Rome, posting a Commonwealth record of 21.16 in the final to become the 4th fastest performer of all time over the distance. At the
2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...
in Glasgow, Proud won a silver in the 50-metre butterfly. He then broke the 50-meter freestyle textile world record with 21.11 in the semi-finals of the 50-metre freestyle, and won his first gold of the European championships in the final. In the Autumn of 2019 he was member of the inaugural
International Swimming League The International Swimming League (ISL) was an annual professional swimming league, established in 2019. It features a team-based competition format with fast-paced race sessions. In 2019, the regular season started in October and the Final Match ...
swimming for the Energy Standard Swim Club, who won the team title in Las Vegas, Nevada, in December.


2021–22

At the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
held in Budapest in May 2021, Proud won a silver in the 50 m freestyle. A year later, at the
2022 World Aquatics Championships The 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, were held in Budapest, Hungary, from 17 June to 3 July 2022. These championships included five disciplines, with high diving not staged for this edi ...
held in Budapest, Proud won gold in the 50 m freestyle event. Proud took part in the
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...
, and won a gold in the 50 m butterfly event.


2023

In 2023, he won the gold medal at the
2023 British Swimming Championships The 2023 British Swimming Championships were held at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, from 4 April to 9 April 2023. They also doubled as the trials for the World Championships. They were organised by British Swimming. ...
in the 50 metres freestyle. It was the fifth time that he had won the 50 metres event. He was also denied a seventh 50 metres butterfly title by Jacob Peters. In December, Proud won one of the two golds that had so far eluded him, becoming European short-course champion over 50 metre freestyle for the first time.


2024

After winning the 50 metres freestyle at the
2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships The 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships (sponsored by Speedo) were held at the London Aquatics Centre in London, from 3 April to 8 April 2024. They also doubled as the trials for the 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), ...
, Proud sealed his place at the
2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
. On 2 August 2024 he won the silver medal in the final of the 50m freestyle.


2025

Proud won the 50 metres freestyle event for the third consecutive year and the 50m butterfly title at the
2025 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships The 2025 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships (sponsored by Speedo) were held at the London Aquatics Centre in London, from 15 April to 22 April 2025. They were organised by Aquatics GB, formerly British Swimming and was the second time the eve ...
. He had already been selected for the
2025 World Aquatics Championships The 2025 World Aquatics Championships, the 22nd edition of the World Aquatics Championships, will be held in Singapore, from 11 July to 3 August 2025. Originally to be held in Kazan, Russia, the championships were relocated to Singapore on 9 F ...
in Singapore but cemented his place in winning the event.


Best times

*British Record * *


See also

*
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming from 1930 to 2022. Current program 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 50 metre backstroke ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proud, Benjamin 1994 births Living people Alumni of Plymouth Marjon University Swimmers from London English emigrants to Malaysia Swimmers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) People educated at Plymouth College Sportspeople from Kuala Lumpur Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in swimming English male butterfly swimmers English male freestyle swimmers 21st-century English sportsmen