Luke Greenbank has paid tribute to his Cumbrian club as he bids to join Team GB's Olympic swimming medal rush.

Greenbank will go for glory in the 200m backstroke final tomorrow after making impressive progress in Tokyo.

And as he stands on the brink of a momentous day, Greenbank said he could not have done it without his formative years at Cockermouth Swimming Club.

“Cockermouth has been a huge part of my life,” he said.

“I go back to see the kids, still see the coaches and my little brother still swims there.

“So it’s so important and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them."

Greenbank's progress to the final included a superb victory over defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy as the 23-year-old qualified second fastest in the semi-finals.

The final will see 100m gold medallist Evgeny Rylov from Russia as favourite, but Greenbank is desperate to join the Team GB medal haul.

He said: “I’m really happy. Second place into an Olympic final is a dream come true. Hopefully I can improve on that tomorrow.  

“There’s been some inspiring performances so far and I really want to get in on that action and win a medal.  

“Preparation has been absolutely perfect, really. There was a great block of training leading up to this and then a great holding camp in Yokohama.

"I’m really confident, really looking forward to racing again and hopefully drop a little bit more time.”

The Crewe-born swimmer, who grew up in Cumbria, makes his bid for glory at 2.50am UK time.

The Cockermouth star also says he has no plans to cut his long hair whilst in the form of his life!

He said: “I started growing it two years ago – it just happened to coincide with me swimming better.

"It’s a bit of a joke that it’s superstitious. I’m sure it’s not, I don’t believe in that. But I’ll keep it for a while, though, just in case…” 

Speaing ahead of the Games, Greenbank paid further tribute to his formative years at Cockermouth Swimming Club, where he started at the age of eight or nine.

“I still keep in contact with my coaches. I was coached by Sean Balmer and Eleanor Walsh along with a number of other volunteer coaches," he said.

Team GB's swimmers have already won three golds in the pool, making it their best Games for more than a century.

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