Harrogate swimming star Gabe Shepherd helps Team England to silver medal at Commonwealth Games
Harrogate’s Gabe Shepherd helped fire Team England’s relay stars to an early silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
The 18-year-old joined forces with Jacob Mills, Jacob Whittle and James Guy in the 4x100m freestyle event to finish second on the opening night of action in Glasgow.
The English quartet touched the wall two seconds behind a strong Australian outfit shortly after their 4x100m women’s team had also taken silver.
A lifelong Harrogate resident, Shepherd’s journey began at Harrogate District Swimming Club, though he now trains with City of Leeds Swimming Club.
Having joined Leeds City Council's Swim Training Scheme in 2022, his achievements in the pool have seen him progress to become a member of the Aquatics GB World Class Programme.
At the age of 15, Shepherd represented England at the World School Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2023, winning two individual gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle, two relay golds and two relay silvers.
The following year, he made his Team GB debut at the European Junior Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he helped in the bagging of a bronze medal in the men's 4×100m freestyle relay.
The 2025 European Junior Championships in Slovakia saw the former Harrogate Grammar School pupil deliver one of the most significant swims of his career to date, anchoring the men's 4×100m medley relay team to gold with a split of 48.68.
Last year, Shepherd went up against the best junior swimmers on the planet at the World Junior Championships in Romania and left with two silver medals – one in the mixed 4×100m freestyle relay and another in the men's 4×100m medley relay.
More recently, he became the only junior swimmer to reach the open A-finals in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle at the Aquatics GB Championships, where he found himself up against a host of Olympic champions and world medallists.
Shepherd’s achievements there, at a time when he was studying A-Level exams, earned him his Commonwealth call-up and a place in Great Britain’s squad for the European Aquatics Championships in Paris.
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