highlights - 2017 FINA World Championships

At his World's debut in 2015, Stephen finished 5th in the 1500m freestyle final, and 7th in the 800m final. The start of the 2017 FINA World Championships may have been a little flat, but it went on to become one of his major career highlights

"The focus had switched from the 1500 to the 400 free post-Rio and I found it hard to adjust to the change from my long-term goal. The Olympics was just awesome, everything about it. We were starting a new 4-year cycle to Tokyo and I knew I wanted to have that opportunity again, but things didn't feel quite the same when I got back into the pool. It took some time to begin to rediscover the motivation I had in training before Rio"

First day disappointment after the 400 turned to resolve as he readied himself to lead out the 4x200m freestyle relay on the morning of Day 6. Alongside team mates Nick Grainger, Calum Jarvis and Duncan Scott, the team posted a time that saw them progress from the heats as second fastest qualifiers behind Australia, and Stephen earned himself a place in the final that night

"Team events are always exciting. So much can change during the race. I led off in the final in Rio in the lane next to Conor Dwyer, who had just won bronze in the individual. You have to remember these guys are the best in the world over the distance. If you get the pacing wrong you can end up in real trouble. You have to swim your own race and have something in reserve to get you through that second 100"

It was lead off again in the final in Hungary, this time followed out by Grainger, Scott, and James Guy - the 2015 200m freestyle World Champion. In a thrilling race, the team successfully defended the World title won by the British men in Kazan in 2015, claiming Gold in a new British record of 7:01.70, 1.43s inside the previous record set in the Olympic final in Rio. Guy's swift anchor leg pushed Russia into silver and the USA into the bronze medal position

"I can't really describe how it felt watching the race develop. We knew there was a chance at Gold and that we would be stronger over the 3rd and 4th legs than most of the other teams. Russia had a strong anchor, but we had Duncan and Jimmy. They had just missed the podium in the 200 individual and they were going to be looking for payback in that relay final"

GB celebrated their 4th Gold medal of the Championships with the win that night, rising to second on the swimming medals table. The team maintained that position through to the closing night, bringing home a total of 4 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze from Budapest.

2017 World Champions