 |
|
| Benjamin
PROUD |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
Great Britain
|
| Gender | Men |
| Born | 21 Sep 1994
in London, ENG |
| Height | 1.89 m |
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|
General Interest |
Other information |
ATTITUDE SHIFT
He said his attitude to swimming changed after winning a world title in the 50m butterfly in 2017, and that he felt better prepared to win an Olympic medal than he did in 2016. He finished fourth in the 50m freestyle at the 2016 Games Rio de Janeiro. "I still feel I'm in my infancy. My initial drive was to win that [world] title and the whole reason I swum. So, my drive has changed and it's not about fast times or winning medals but being the best I can be. I don't think I was ready for a medal in Rio [in 2016], but the result spurred me on to improve." (standard.co.uk, 01 Aug 2018)
COMMONWEALTH DISQUALIFICATION
At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, he was disqualified following his 50m butterfly heat for movement on the starting blocks. He appealed the decision but the disqualification was upheld. "Unfortunately before the start signal I was judged to have moved my leg and the referee deemed this enough for a disqualification. I really wanted to come into the competition to retain both my titles [50m butterfly, 50m freestyle] and to have that opportunity taken away in the first heat is heart-breaking. There was so much invested in that and my world just shattered. It's the first time I have been disqualified at that level but better there than at the Olympics." (smh.com.au, 05 Apr 2018; standard.co.uk, 01 Aug 2018; bbc.co.uk, 05 Apr 2018)
TRAINING IN TURKEY
He moved to Turkey in February 2017 to train under coach James Gibson at the Energy Standard club, and spends most of the year there. "At the elite end of sport we're entering quite dangerous territory. To be number one or two in the world, you really have to be committed. It's the way sports are going now, it has to be 11-and-a-half months a year. The life of a swimmer can be draining but I'm driven to be the best swimmer I can be." (standard.co.uk, 01 Aug 2018)
SWITCHING FOCUS
He began his swimming career as a butterfly specialist. After finishing school and joining Plymouth Leander swimming club, he began to focus more on freestyle because the 50m butterfly is not an Olympic event. "Originally when I started swimming I was a 50m butterflyer - that was my event. That was the event I enjoyed the most and it was really the reason I got into swimming. But, since it's not an Olympic event, my focus switched to freestyle when I joined Plymouth [Leander]." (swimswam.com, 22 Mar 2016)
RAISED IN MALAYSIA
His family moved to Malaysia when he was five months old and he lived there until age 16. He competed for Alice Smith School, a British international school in Malaysia, under coach Francis Kiu. He hopes to return to Malaysia after his swimming career is over to train and work with local children. "Malaysia is my home, and forever will be." (swimswam.com, 01 Sep 2018; thesundaily.my, 10 Sep 2017; straitstimes.com, 26 Jul 2017) |
International Debut |
Year |
2013 |
Competing for |
Great Britain |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Ben (Facebook profile, 11 Apr 2018) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Work hard in silence, let success be your noise." (Instagram profile, 20 Nov 2021) |
Most influential person in career |
Coach Jon Rudd, and his first coach Francis Kiu. (swimswam.com, 01 Sep 2018; plymouthherald.co.uk, 29 Nov 2016) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Plymouth, ENG |
General Interest |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. (sportsmole.co.uk, 01 Mar 2018; standard.co.uk, 01 Aug 2018; airasia.com, 25 Feb 2017) |
Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Sport Studies - University of St. Mark and St. John: Plymouth, ENG |
General Interest |
Injuries |
He was troubled by several injuries in 2015. (swimswam.com, 22 Mar 2016) |
Awards and honours |
In 2018 he was named Devon and Cornwall's Sports Personality of the Year in England. (Twitter profile, 29 Jan 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Energy Standard Swim Club [TUR] / Bath University [ENG]: |
Why this sport? |
"Being raised in Malaysia, living there the first 16-17 years of my life, it's a tropical country so we spent a lot of time in the water. I was on a school team but never took it seriously. Another friend and I joined a team - it was just us two and our coach - but after one of the first practices the coach turned to my mother and said he could make me Malaysian national champion within a year. In 10 months, my 50m freestyle time went from 25.0 to 23.4 and that was the turning point. I knew I had to go all in or nothing with swimming. I told my mother this is the career path I wanted to follow." |
Name of coach |
James Gibson [Energy Standard]; Mark Skimming [Bath], GBR |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He began learning to swim at age one and began training seriously at age 17. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
English |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 5 |
2021 |
Tokyo, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
21.72 |
| Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
100m Freestyle |
49.14 |
| 4 |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
50m Freestyle |
21.68 |
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 3 |
2024 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Freestyle |
21.53 |
| 5 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
50m Butterfly |
22.91 |
| 3 |
2023 |
Fukuoka, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
21.58 |
| 7 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Butterfly |
23.08 |
| 1 |
2022 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.32 |
| 7 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
50m Butterfly |
23.01 |
| 5 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
50m Freestyle |
21.55 |
| 5 |
2019 |
Gwangju, KOR |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:11.81 |
| 1 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Butterfly |
22.75 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.43 |
| 8 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
50m Butterfly |
23.39 |
| 8 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
50m Freestyle |
22.04 |
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
100m Freestyle |
49.35 |
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:15.70 |
| 4 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:30.67 |
| Semifinal |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Butterfly |
23.33 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Freestyle |
22.31 |
World Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 2 |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
50m Freestyle |
20.49 |
| 4 |
2022 |
Melbourne, VIC, AUS |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:37.07 |
| Heats |
2021 |
Abu Dhabi, UAE |
50m Butterfly |
DNS |
| 1 |
2021 |
Abu Dhabi, UAE |
50m Freestyle |
20.45 |
| 6 |
2021 |
Abu Dhabi, UAE |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:10.19 |
| 8 |
2018 |
Hangzhou, CHN |
50m Freestyle |
DSQ |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Butterfly |
23.21 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Freestyle |
48.01 |
| Semifinal |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Freestyle |
21.44 |
| 5 |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:32.30 |
| 5 |
2014 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:22.78 |
European Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 1 |
2022 |
Rome, ITA |
50m Freestyle |
21.58 |
| 2 |
2021 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.69 |
| 1 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Freestyle |
21.34 |
| 2 |
2018 |
Glasgow, SCO |
50m Butterfly |
22.78 |
| 3 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
50m Freestyle |
21.85 |
| 3 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
50m Butterfly |
23.34 |
| Heats |
2016 |
London, ENG |
100m Freestyle |
50.02 |
| 7 |
2016 |
London, ENG |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:17.13 |
| 4 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Freestyle |
21.94 |
| 3 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Butterfly |
23.21 |
| Semifinal |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Freestyle |
49.33 |
| 1 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:31.73 |
European Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| Heats |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
50m Butterfly |
DNS |
| 1 |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
50m Freestyle |
20.18 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:27.75 |
| 1 |
2023 |
Otopeni, ROU |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:22.52 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
50m Butterfly |
22.44 |
| 2 |
2017 |
Copenhagen, DEN |
50m Freestyle |
20.66 |
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 44 |
2023 |
|
Overall Ranking |
|
| 1 |
2023 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
21.77 |
| 3 |
2023 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Butterfly |
23.15 |
| 57 |
2018 |
|
Overall Ranking |
|
| 2 |
2018 |
Budapest, HUN |
50m Freestyle |
20.89 |
| 5 |
2016 |
Beijing, CHN |
100m Freestyle |
48.21 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Beijing, CHN |
50m Butterfly |
22.77 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Beijing, CHN |
50m Freestyle |
21.33 |
| 4 |
2016 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Butterfly |
22.69 |
| 3 |
2016 |
Berlin, GER |
50m Freestyle |
21.15 |
| 6 |
2016 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Freestyle |
48.84 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Butterfly |
22.57 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Doha, QAT |
50m Freestyle |
21.22 |
| 5 |
2016 |
Dubai, UAE |
100m Freestyle |
48.11 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Dubai, UAE |
50m Butterfly |
22.76 |
| 3 |
2016 |
Dubai, UAE |
50m Freestyle |
21.25 |
| 3 |
2016 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
50m Butterfly |
22.98 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
50m Freestyle |
21.33 |
| 3 |
2016 |
Singapore, SGP |
50m Butterfly |
22.60 |
| 2 |
2016 |
Tokyo, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
21.25 |
| 6 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
100m Freestyle |
48.55 |
| 5 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
50m Butterfly |
23.19 |
| 6 |
2014 |
Singapore, SGP |
50m Freestyle |
21.81 |
| 8 |
2014 |
Tokyo, JPN |
100m Freestyle |
49.40 |
| 8 |
2014 |
Tokyo, JPN |
50m Freestyle |
22.04 |
| 7 |
2013 |
Moscow, RUS |
50m Butterfly |
23.51 |
| 8 |
2013 |
Moscow, RUS |
50m Freestyle |
21.96 |
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