Gabe Shepherd: The City of Leeds Swimming Club star eyeing LA 28 & Brisbane 2032 Olympics after Commonwealths

In the latest of our big interview features, Lee Sobot catches up with 18-year-old City of Leeds Swimming Club star Gabe Shepherd. Gabe was named Young Sportsperson of the Year at the 2026 Leeds Sports Awards and is a young man now heading to this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Gabe, first and foremost, how did it feel to be a winner at this year's Leeds Sports Awards?

"I think it's a really big deal for me. I've been training at Leeds now for a while and I was even happy to be nominated. I wasn't really expecting to win, but just to win and come away with the prize and be recognised for all my achievements is really, really impressive. I'm really happy with that."

What does it mean to have the support of Leeds because it's obviously a city rich in sporting tradition?

"I'm just really happy with it and the facilities I've got provided here. I used to train at a very small pool and with a lot less people. And when I came to Leeds, I've just come on leaps and bounds really. All the coaches, all the people around me just really help with what I get to do."

Where did you train before then Gabe and what has the journey been like to get you to Leeds?

"I used to train in Harrogate. I actually live there. I started swimming in Harrogate when I was maybe eight or nine years old and one of the one of the coaches told me I should join the squad there. I had good success when I was younger, when I was about 12, like 10 through until about 13. I was really enjoying it. I really liked competing. I had lots of Yorkshire medals and stuff like that. And then when came Covid came around they shut the pool for closure so it kind of it kind of restricted me a lot. A lot of the older boys I looked up to and would want to beat in training and stuff, they all left and moved on and did other things and it was getting the point where I was travelling to places like Ripon and Knaresborough. Looking at all the swimmers at Leeds, people who I had been racing against since I was little, people like Dan Ransom who was also nominated for a Leeds Sports Award as well and who I train with now, looking at them and their success at the club wanted made me want to move to the club and do that as well. It wasn't really as far out of my way as it was already so I moved to Leeds when I was about 14, and since then, I've just had really good success. It's a lot more of a professional environment, the facilities are great and the team's great. My coaches now are so good and all my hard work has ended up paying off."

What does it mean to be flying the flag for the City of Leeds Swimming Club now then?

"Hopefully I can help put swimming back on the map! Hopefully I can get the name out there and I really want to stay for the next Olympic cycle. I really like my coach who I have got now - Russ Barber - he's come in recently. We had Richard Denigan but he moved to Loughborough and now we've got Russ. So far it's gone really well and don't change it if it works. Hopefully I can stay with him and progress from that."

What have been the highs of your swimming career so far then Gabe?

"So far it's now qualification for the Commonwealth Games and the European champs - the senior European champs. Last year I had a bit of a bit of a down. I didn't really progress as much I would have liked to, maybe exams like personal issues, stuff like that. But this year, I've really put my mind to it when Russ came in in September. I've been determined, I've set goals out for myself and just believed in myself. I achieved what I wanted to achieve, and hopefully I can go on to progress into the summer and hopefully make some medals at the places that I'm going to."

Wow, so despite the achievements so far you think it could have been even better?

"Yeah I didn't progress as much as I wanted to. It's down to multiple reasons. I guess I kind of lost a bit of motivation for the sport. But I had some time off afterwards in the summer, I had a week break, and then I wanted to go again and I've been determined since then, and my progress has come on loads and loads, like in 2024. In 2024 I broke out onto the international scene at junior competitions, but I haven't really had success at them as much as I would have wanted to. I would have this year but fortunately I'm going away with a senior team and it just gets me a lot of experience. The Olympics are coming up in two years now. It seems like a long way away, but it's not in terms of swimming and training cycle and stuff like that so I really need to get my head down for stuff like that."

So the Commonwealths will be the first time flying the flag at a senior event then? So how are you feeling about that?

"I'm going to be quite nervous to be honest with you. for a while now. I've had the honour of training with people like James Guy and Matt Richards because I did some training sessions in Manchester in 2025 and they're really nice people. They made me feel really welcome and hopefully that will calm my nerves a bit and I'll be able to shine as much as I want to."

You're 18 now Gabe so tell us a little bit about your life away from swimming - what schools you have been at?

"I went to Western Primary School. Now I'm at Harrogate Grammar and I've got my A levels at the moment. Although swimming is a big part of my life I've still had to focus on school because in swimming you can peak around 24. You can hang on to the sport until you're about 30, but I've got to have something afterwards. I've just got to get through these exams and then see what I can do this summer."

So will it be off to uni then?

"It's going to be a hard decision this year. I've got to see where I'm at with my exams and with my results as well because I don't want to be moving around coaches too much and stuff like that before an Olympic cycle. I think if I keep progressing with Russ I think I'll stay at Leeds, but if not, I'll maybe go to a university for two years. It's thinking about being in an environment that I'm comfortable with and I know that works, not changing everything before a big year."

And do you get time for anything else?

"I have a lot of interests to be honest, it's whether I've got time for them or not! I used to do triathlon when I younger. It's something my parents got me into. I used to love cycling, I love running. I like playing golf. I used to play football. I was really athletic as a kid. But when I got better at swimming, it was the decision of what I need to focus on really because you can't be a triathlete and a swimmer and to be fair the only reason why I was good at triathlon when I was younger was because I was so good at swimming! I'd be like a minute ahead of everyone so that gives me a big advantage. But hopefully, when I get my exams done I can play a bit more golf and I can spend a bit more time with my friends than right now."

What events will you be doing then Gabe at these two upcoming competitions then Gabe?

"I think I've got to discuss it with my coach but I do I think I have individual births at least at one of the two competitions. I know I was picked for the relay on the Europeans and they can enter up to four for GB and for England I can think they can enter three and I'm top three in everything so I think I'll be able to get a birth in that. But a lot of the focus is on the relays as well because being a part of them will give us a better chance of medalling and it's more likely I medal in something like that than in an individual race I'd say. But you never say never."

And long term then? Olympics?

"Yeah. Fingers crossed, hopefully I'm going to progress a bit more this year and then hopefully I'll kind of climb my way up to the top of the senior by next year as well. And then in 2028, I'd like to get on to the Olympic team and I'd like to win medals at the Olympics as well. And in 2032 as well."

So just lastly we talk about the Leeds sporting tradition - the Brownlees and people like that - household names now. You're a Harrogate lad but also doing it for Leeds now?

"I think I'm really honoured to be put in the hat with names like the Brownlee brothers and stuff like that. It's a big achievement for me and hopefully I can move forward in the future as well."