Chemical Engineering student Henrique Mascarenhas will represent Angola in the 100m freestyle, while Ridhwan Mohamed - who is studying Automotive Engineering with Business Management - is delighted to compete for Kenya in the 400m freestyle on the opening day of competition at Paris' La Defense Arena. 

Tobi Sijuade, who continues to train full-time with the University of Bath Swimming Club after graduating in 2023 with a degree in Health and Exercise Science, will compete for Nigeria in a 50m freestyle field that includes fellow club member and former training partner Ben Proud of Team GB. 

"Competing in the Olympics was a dream of mine that I've been obsessed with since I was 13 years old," said Mascarenhas, who has represented Angola at the World Championships. "Then I asked my parents if I could go abroad to improve my swimming and balance my academic studies. I lived in Cape Town, South Africa for four years before moving to England, and now here I am here at the University of Bath," he added. 

"The University has played a huge part in helping me to achieve this goal. I have been able to split my academic year to balance my commitments and it also helps to train on campus. We train early in the morning and in the afternoon but the lecture halls are only a 10-minute walk away. The coaches and lecturers are aware of us, so it is a nice partnership," concluded Mascarenhas. 

Ridhwan Mohamed said, "I came to the University last September as I felt a change would be good for me going into an Olympic year. It's a great place and has some of the best sports facilities I've seen. Having Olympic champions training here motivates you and makes you want to push yourself harder. I don't think it will really sink in until I get to the Village. I'm excited and happy to have made my parents, family, friends and coaches proud." 

Sijuade said, "I am ecstatic. I've been swimming competitively for 13 years and it's very exciting to know that I'm going to be out there in Paris, competing against the big boys that I've watched on TV for many years. I want to go out there, show people what I am capable of and do the best job possible for Nigeria." 

"To have three members of our squad qualify for Paris it shows the depth of talent we have and that the coaches are getting results. It's so nice to see the smiles on people's faces after all the work. It's good to go out there together, represent our countries together and have fun together. This is my fourth year on the programme and I've loved every moment of it." 

Mascarenhas and Mohamed are supported in their dual careers by the Student Performance Sport Breakthrough Programme and are coached by Andrei Vorontsov, the University's Assistant Swimming Coach, who knows hot to work with Olympic swimmers after coaching his native Russia at London 2012 and Sweden at Rio 2016. 

"Henrique and Ridhwan are very intelligent, very accurate and fully committed to their training and their studies. I am proud that they will represent their countries at Paris 2024," said Vorontsov, who also guided Sports Performance student Joshua Gammon to back-to-back British titles and his Aquatics GB senior debut at the European Championships in Belgrade this summer. 

Sijuade, who is supported by the University's Full Time Athlete Programme, is coached by Mark Skimming, the University's Head of Swimming, who has worked with Olympians including Proud and reigning champion Anna Hopkin. He also coaches the Pentathlon GB squad, including Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Joe Choong and Kate French, both of whom will defend their titles in Paris. 

"We are so proud of Henrique, Ridhwan and Tobi," said Skimming. "The ambition of myself, Andrei and the swimming programme is to help people get as far as they can and the Olympics is the pinnacle of that. We have a really good group of people on the programme who are all competitive and hold each other accountable. Our main aim is for people to leave here with a great degree and to have swum faster than they ever have before." 

Nine swimmers trained at the University of Bath will be at Paris 2024. Reigning champions Tom Dean and Freya Anderson will be joined by Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre teammates Kieran Bird, Jacob Whittle and Economics and Maths student Leah Crisp, while Suzanna Hext is competing at the Paralympics. A-level student Tilly Collymore, who will be representing Grenada in the 100m freestyle, is also training with Skimming in the final build-up.