Swimmer Will aiming to conquer the world in 2026 after European and British Championship success
York College student Will Browning is hoping to conquer the world in 2026 after ending last year with a combined total of nine European and British Championship swimming medals.
Will, 23, also won gold for 50m freestyle at the 2021 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin and is now preparing for the World Down Syndrome Swimming & Artistic Championships, which is organised by the Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation (DSISO) and will be held in Portugal later this year.
A student on our Pathways to Work and Independent Living course, which provides a personalised approach to learning designed to meet an individual’s needs, Will has been competing for Team GB and attending training camps for the past nine years.
His medal haul at November’s European Championships in Albufeira, Portugal consisted of a silver medal in the 4x50m freestyle relay and a pair of bronzes in the 400m and 800m freestyle.
He also swam six personal bests and helped his country win the overall Top Team trophy.
Two weeks later, he competed at the Down Syndrome Swimming GB Championships in Crawley, where he raced seven events and returned with another six medals and three personal bests, claiming gold in the 400m freestyle, silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 50m butterfly and 50m, 200m and 800m freestyle.
Will is no stranger to success on the world stage, either, having secured a hat-trick of bronze medals at the 2018 World Championships in Canada.
His European Championship performance, meanwhile, was made even more impressive, as he had only been able to train four days before the event after recovering from a three-month illness.
On his achievements in Portugal and Crawley, Will said: “It was good and made me feel proud. I just try to swim hard and go for it and I also enjoy supporting the rest of the team.”
As a Down Syndrome Swimming Great Britain squad member, Will has also competed and trained overseas in Paris, Turkey and Kosovo and he added: “I enjoy travelling to different places and trying the food. I really liked the pizzas in Portugal!”
Will started swimming at the age of four and has been competing in the sport since the beginning of his teenage years.
He trains four days a week with Tadcaster York Sport Swim Squad and Tadcaster Stingrays – a squad for young people who have disabilities that was founded by his older sister Jemima, who also coaches the group.
Butterfly and freestyle are Will’s favourite strokes and he also participates for Tadcaster in mainstream galas and volunteers as a qualified Swim Teaching Assistant at the town’s Community Pool every Saturday.
Outside of swimming, he’s a keen footballer who supports Manchester United and is part of Selby Cycling Club, where he rides a tandem bike with his dad.
Will enjoys the weekly sport sessions that College’s Level 3 Sports Coaching students deliver for our Pathways learners, too.
“The Pathways course is really good, especially the sport sessions and I’ve made a lot of new friends,” Will said. “I also want to go on to do a Sports Coaching course at College, so I can help children.”
For more details on our Pathways to Work and Independent Living course, please click here
Further information on our Level 3 Sports Coaching diploma can be found here
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