28th February, 2024
Oliver becomes a 2-time BUCS record holder on top of winning 2 Gold medals and 1 Silver medals!!!
The 2024 edition of the BUCS Long Course Championships returned to Ponds Forge ISC, Sheffield - where Oliver swam in all 3 of the Backstroke events and both the Men's 4x100m Freestyle, 4x100m Medley and the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay.
Day 1 started off with the Men's 100m Backstroke heats where Oliver put himself in second seed with a 54.96, just behind Loughborough's Connor Ferguson. In the finals session, Oliver broke the BUCS record which was held by then Connor Ferguson and lowered it by .6 of a second to post his 3rd fastest lifetime swim with a 53.31. That time would have won him bronze at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha just the previous week. Oliver also led off the club's mixed medley relay and split a 54.75 to take the University of Birmingham's team to a 7th place finish.
The following day, Oliver had the 200m Backstroke where in the heats, he posted a time of 2:02.50 to put him top seed ahead of Stirling's Zach Speakman and Sheffield's Samuel Greenbank. In the evening, Oliver then bettered his heats time to touch home first in another BUCS record time of 1:57.81, holding off a late charging Connor Ferguson. Later that evening, Oliver and his teammates will then go to lower the University record in the 4x100m Freestyle relay by 5 seconds, while splitting a jaw-dropping 49.95. That split was the third fastest split in the field. Despite that, the team narrowly missed out on the medals and placed 4th.
In the final day, Oliver had the 50m Backstroke where he breaks the BUCS record in the heats with a time of 24.92 - a lifetime second fastest time for him. In the final, it was neck-and-neck between Oliver and Connor where Connor had the touch by 0.01 and Oliver touched in second with a new personal best time of 24.73. In the final relay, Oliver led the University of Birmingham team off with a 53.33 split and the team ultimately wound up placing 4th with a 7 second University record.
Watch as Oliver breaks the Men's 100m Backstroke BUCS Record with a time of 53.31! - He is in lane 5 (white trunks, red cap)
Watch as Oliver breaks the Men's 200m Backstroke BUCS Record with a time of 1:57.81! - He is in lane 4 (black trunks, red cap)