All eyes in Fairford were on local champion swimmer, Alex Cohoon (21), last Saturday as he took part in the Paris Olympics 2024, writes Chris Roberts MBE. 

Representing Great Britain alongside Tom Dean, Jacob Whittle and Duncan Scott in the Men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay, the British team achieved a strong third place behind France and Spain to qualify for the final.

Alex certainly captured the BBC TV commentator’s attention as he frequently enthused about the pace and strength of Alex’s swim, and many of Alex’s supporters took to Facebook to congratulate him on a superb performance, with his leg of the race being the second fastest – only 0.01 of a second behind the fastest.

Expectation was high for Team GB for the final that took place later at the iconic Paris La Défense Arena.

However, it was a surprise to Alex’s supporters to see that he had been replaced by Matt Richards.

One Fairford fan said on Facebook: “Why is Alex not swimming? He swam like a torpedo. He made the difference.”

The British 100m freestyle relay team came fifth in the Saturday night final with the United States earning its first Gold medal of the Paris Olympics with a time of 3:09:28 followed by Australia in second with a time of 3:10:35 and Italy taking the Bronze medal with a time of 3:10:70.

Loughborough University student, Alex will have another chance to win an Olympic medal for Great Britain when he swims in the individual Men’s 50m freestyle.

The heats and semi-finals are on Thursday August 1 and the final on Friday August 2.