Olympian mourns closure of town's swim club

An Olympian has said she is "incredibly disappointed" by the closure of a swimming club that shaped her sporting career.

Jazz Carlin, who won two silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, was born in Swindon, where she trained with Tigersharks.

"I really wouldn't be where I am today without Tigersharks," Carlin told Radio Wiltshire. "It gave me discipline and taught me resilience from a really early age."

The club, which was founded in 1975, will close on 31 August due to a "financial deficit". Directors cited rising pool costs and declining swimming numbers, and said all options to save the club had been exhausted.

Tigersharks' executive committee confirmed the club's closure to the BBC and said it would have run out of funds by December.

An email from directors to members reads: "The decision to close Tigersharks on 31 August 2026 is... not one we have taken lightly, but it is the only responsible course of action available to us."

The committee thanked those who had tried to save the club, adding: "Our focus now is on making this transition as smooth as possible for every one of our members."

The club trained at pools including Health Hydro and the Link Centre.

Until the age of 14, Carlin was coached by the late Phil Millard through Tigersharks.

"I was ringing him before my race in Rio," she said.

"So even though he was just my local swimming coach in my early years, he was still so influential.

"I think a lot of people often like to talk about the medals and those winning moments, but actually the best moments for me were being at the back of the swimming bus, singing songs on the way to our local competitions and our team competitions."

Tigersharks has produced other successful swimmers including Paralympian Suzanna Hext and Olympians Jaime King and Grant Turner.

"Tigersharks has so much history," added Carlin, who won her Olympic silver medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle events in 2016.

"Not just from the Olympians they've come out with, and the medals they've brought to the club, but also the people that've been there, the support and the incredible community that has been built."

Tigersharks was initially known as Thamesdown Swim Squad when it was founded in 1975 by Swindon parents.

Head coach Rich Smith has been in the role for three years after he previously coached at Marlborough Penguins. He will be made redundant this month.

"Losing Tigersharks is going to have a huge impact," he said.

"It has been a shock. I've been able to take the club and move it forward. We've got some really good swimmers and some aspirational swimmers coming through."

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