It says much for Lucy Hope’s tenacity that in a team full of superstars, the Edinburgh woman has been a mainstay of the British swimming squad for almost a decade.

Hope may not have generated headlines in the vein the likes of Duncan Scott has managed but her longevity is a testament to someone who has gone about her business with little fanfare yet has picked up 13 major championship medals over the years, including an impressive seven relay golds at the European Championships, over the years.

In a sport such as swimming, which sees many of the top athletes, particularly on the female side, retire in their early 20s, Hope is bucking that trend in emphatic fashion. And having been selected for her second Olympic Games this summer, the 27-year-old admits one of her proudest achievements is her ability to continue improving at an age at which many swimmers have already hung up their goggles.

“I’m definitely one of the older ones in the British team now, which I get reminded of all the time by the younger guys,” Hope says before going onto explain what’s been behind her ability to forge such a long career.

The Herald: Lucy Hope is one of the elder stateswomen of the GB swimming teamLucy Hope is one of the elder stateswomen of the GB swimming team (Image: Getty)

“It’s been about consistency – I’m really consistent in my training and I very rarely get ill. It’s about turning up to training every day and putting in your best effort and because of that, I’ve been able to stay at this level for so long. 

“Often, you think your peak is younger than it really is but there’s always things to improve upon and there’s always ways to do things better or be more efficient.”

Much of the reason for her continuous improvement is the quality of swimmers she is alongside and, as a vital member of the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay squad that also includes individual world champion, Freya Colbert, Hope is in no doubt that the ferocious but healthy level of competition between the women in the relay squad has ensured she has continued to improve as a swimmer year on year. And it says it all that the Borders native believes this current batch of British swimmers is the strongest group she’s been involved with.

“As a relay squad, we’re really pushing each other to be the best we can all be,” she says of the women’s sprint relay squad.

“When we’re training together, you don’t want to be finishing last so it means you have to push yourself that bit more. It’s such a competitive environment – you’re looking at what other people are doing and you’re wanting to be the best that’s going to make us all stronger.

“And I think, as a whole, this is the best British team we’ve ever had so hopefully there’s good things to come at the Olympics.”

After being assured of her place at Paris 2024 – Hope was one of five Scots selected for Team GB’s swimming team last month alongside Duncan Scott, Kathleen Dawson, Keanna MacInnes and Katie Shanahan – the freestyle sprinter who trains at the University of Stirling has ambitions of producing some of her fastest-ever times this summer.

After being part of the 4x200m freestyle relay squad that took silver at last year’s World Championships, a place on the Olympic podium is certainly not out of the realms of possibility for Hope in Paris.

She’s reluctant to admit her ambitions lie any further afield than swimming her best but she is hopeful she’ll have a smoother run towards Paris than she did ahead of Tokyo, before which she caught Covid the month before the Games, severely disrupting her preparation for her Olympic debut.

That first Olympic appearance, however, has equipped Hope with a load of experience that she’s optimistic she’ll be able to positively draw upon this summer and that, coupled with the knowledge that Paris may be her final Olympics, is what fuels her desire to produce some of her best performances of her life in Paris.

“I think I still can tap into the experience I gained in Tokyo even though it was an unusual Games with it being in a pandemic. First time around you think it’s going to be scarier than it maybe is but then you realise it’s about relaxing into it,” she says..

“I don’t want to say for certain this is my last Olympics but I’ll be 31 in 2028 so that might be pushing it a bit. I’d never want to put a limit on what I can do though and it’s just about taking it year by year.

“Last year I swam the best I’ve swum and hopefully I can improve upon that this summer.”