World Championships: Ben Proud On “Perfect” Paris, Living In London & Finding A Balance
Ben Proud sits in his apartment, a few minutes’ walk from the London Aquatics Centre which hosted the 2012 Games and is now the Olympic silver medallist’s training base.
The 30-year-old moved to Stratford, east London, shortly after his return from Paris where he claimed the one medal that had eluded him during a career in which he’s stood atop the world, European and Commonwealth podiums.
Proud was fourth in the 50 free at Rio 2016 and five years later in Tokyo, a joint fifth-place finish alongside Kristian Gkolomeev left him desolate and on the brink of retirement.
l-r: Ben Proud, Cam McEvoy, Florent Manaudou: Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala, Deepbluemedia
Fast-forward to Paris and a raucous La Défense Arena on the night of 2 August 2024. After 21.30secs in the water, Proud got his hand to the wall and the silver medal was his behind champion Cameron McEvoy with Florent Manaudou claiming his fourth straight Olympic medal in third.
Proud told Swimming World:
“For me the medal felt like it was catching up for what I deserved in a way. I do feel like I’ve been in and among the best sprinters in the world for a long time and been missing out on Olympic medals. I felt like I’d earned the right to have one for myself. So, it felt very calming to know that I’d finally achieved it and I could move on with my life.”
There was, he says, a sense of relief.
“Leading into it, I didn’t need the medal as much as other years. I didn’t need to perform and be on the podium but at the same time there’s always that nagging voice in your head that’s like you do need it, you do want it.
“That for me was the battle in the 24 hours leading into the final, just riling myself up into the state that I just want to perform and swim the swim I’ve been training for and everything else doesn’t matter.
“It’s a really nervous moment. You touch the wall; you turn around and there’s this time between finishing and the wave that’s following you crashing into you. You have a split-second to see a glimpse of the board and I saw my name followed by second so that was a huge weight off the shoulders, a big relief. I wasn’t ecstatic – I think if I’d won gold like Cam it’d be very different – but a silver is a very pleasing place to be. It was a relief knowing I can get that – if I hadn’t achieved it that night, I think it would have been tough, but I would have carried on with my life and been okay.”
It was his best experience in the sport, one where he enjoyed the process of the race, the outcome and the ceremony where he got to collect the medal itself. This time there were no misgivings or questions.
“Even before when I’d won medals or titles, I’d still always have an element of doubt in my mind which would be like maybe someone wasn’t there, maybe I wasn’t performing at my best, or something was quite off. Whereas that night at the Olympics was just perfect. It was all I could have wanted. I felt I’d swum a swim that was exactly what I could do, I couldn’t have done it much better and I think I did as well as I could so I was able to enjoy that experience. To be there with Flo was quite a special one because we shared a lot over the past few years.”
He enjoyed a low-key evening with friends before coming down with flu-like symptoms which continued for around 10 days after his return from the French capital with Proud consigned to his bed in his Stratford apartment.
“It was quite nice in a way because it meant I had so much time to decompress alone and basically come back to earth. By the time I got better and I was doing more social things life just felt very normal again. It was so weird to think I’d been at the Olympics two weeks prior. Which for me the way I am, that’s how I enjoy it the most. I don’t think I wanted any big celebrations or parties or things like that, I just wanted to get back to my life and to be with my brother and go for food and have good coffee and all these things.”
London Calling As Proud Seeks A Balance
Ben Proud: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Proud has traversed the world during his swimming odyssey stopping off at Kuala Lumpur, Plymouth, Bath, Hawaii and Gloria in Türkiye. There he developed his own programme which was overseen by James Gibson with input from strength and conditioning coach Marco Cosso.
After finding it hard to replicate that set-up and focus in London, Proud turned to Lisa Bates, the head coach of the Chelsea and Westminster club that train at the Aquatics Centre.
Bates, who is also on the GB coaching team at the World Championships in Singapore, has, says Proud, “come in to fill the shoes of James to keep me honest, keep me in the water and we’re building this working relationship now.”
A good working relationship with pool operator Everyone Active means Proud can book a lane whenever he needs it – “lane nine is my place.”
He’s still trying to find the right balance and in post-Olympic year has stepped back from the intensity of previous years.
“Try new things, see what works, take a few lessons from Cam’s book, which I’ve tried but I don’t think it works for me so I’m trying to cultivate my own new system that I think works better for me. It’s all trial and error but this year is the year to come down – emotionally come down from a couple of years of high intensity and try and strike a balance that will keep me swimming a little bit longer.”
At the start of the year, he trialled doing two or three swims a week plus gym and up until the time of the British trials in April, he was doing roughly 2.5/3k per week in the pool.
By late June, that had increased to 12k across seven swim sessions per week with a couple of gym sessions.
When he’s not at the Aquatic Centre or his apartment, Proud enjoys going into the city to catch up with the likes of three-time Olympic champion Tom Dean.
“Tom is a real go-getter: he loves London and we meet each other in the city quite often. I’m such an introvert – I love staying in my place and having my time and having my coffee and my music, my little world. But then the beautiful thing is that in 20 minutes I can be in central London having a beer or a catch-up with a close friend. That for me is the perfect balance: I can tuck myself away and disappear for a month and get into training. But then every now and again I can just pop into London and see a friend.
“I wouldn’t say I’m making the most of London living but I have the opportunity to strike that balance and London really works for me.”
His long-term plan is to stay in good enough shape to consider the LA Games in 2028 as an option while taking it one year at a time. The initial plan was to spend a year in London to see whether living in one of the world’s great cities and swimming can go hand in hand.
It also gives Proud the opportunity to learn about himself.
“I spent so many years away that I just want to be a bit normal really. I haven’t had that normality in life for so long trying to figure out who Ben Proud the person is and it’s nice to have my own things and have a place I can call my own and at 30 years old, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that.”
Looking To Singapore
Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Proud will take on the 50 free and 50 fly at the World Championships. His season’s best in the former stands at 21.67 en-route to the British title in April, making him the joint eighth-swiftest performer in 2025 with McEvoy atop the rankings in 21.30.
The Briton is the only man to have simultaneously held the world, Commonwealth and European 50 free titles, a feat he accomplished in the summer of 2022. Proud has subsequently won bronze at the two editions since Budapest 2022.
He won the 50 fly world title at Budapest 2017 and he points to how the event – which will be contested at LA2028 – has moved on in terms of speed. Ilya Kharun tops the rankings in 22.68 with Proud’s 2025 best standing at 23.20 at the Sette Colli.
Proud, whose British record stands at 22.75 en-route to the 2017 world crown, said: “The 50 fly has become an event which suddenly everyone is able to do and everyone is swimming really fast. My hopes for that are that it’s a bit more open and I’m not holding myself accountable to being in the final or making the podium: it really depends what my body can produce. I back myself in the ability to perform as well as I can under the pressure but because there are so many people now who are swimming 22.7 or quicker, it’s tough to compete against that.
“The focus is still on the freestyle.”
Born in London, Proud grew up in Kuala Lumpur after his parents Nick and Sally moved to the Malaysian capital. His talent caught the eye of coach Francis Kiu who guided him until he was 16 when he moved to Plymouth College.
He’s spent a lot of time in the region and returned there in 2021 to spend time working with Kiu.
He said: “The fact that world champs is coming to Singapore and I still have a lot of close ties to Malaysia meant last year in the back of my mind (I thought) it’ll be something good to aim for and good to achieve.
“It does strike a good note; dad will be an hour’s flight away and it’s going to be exciting to have a bit more familiarity with the culture.”
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