“When I come back, I’m just Luke,” says Luke Greenbank as he weighs another major international competition with thoughts of home.
Greenbank is one of Britain’s top swimmers, a medallist at Olympic Games and World Championships, and a leading light in the pool for Team England at next week’s Commonwealth Games.
He is also a proud Cumbrian whose formative years were spent in the pool at Cockermouth Leisure Centre. It is when returning to these parts that the weight of his achievements truly sinks in.
“Coming home is grounding,” he says. “I’m just Luke to my family, brothers, mum and dad, and my mates. From growing up there, that’s what people see me as.
“But, I have to say, things still hit home the most last year when I got back from the [Tokyo] Olympics and I was walking around Great Broughton, my village, and was getting stopped by people saying, ‘We were up in the middle of the night watching you’.
“That really was quite special to know I had the support from people back home – that people were invested in it.
“Hopefully I’ll have that same support come the Commonwealth Games – and people won’t need to get up in the middle of the night to watch it…”
Greenbank, after bringing home two medals from Tokyo, was named Cumbrian Sports Personality of the Year. The 24-year-old, who was born in Crewe but whose family moved to the county when he was a baby, takes great pride in this alongside his major international achievements.
“I always consider myself Cumbrian. It’s a very special place for me,” he says. “To be recognised as Cumbrian Sports Personality of the Year was very special. I remember going to one of the awards ceremonies when I was younger to pick up a junior award, so to win the senior award was very special.”
Greenbank credits Cockermouth Swimming Club with a major part in his rise to his sport’s elite. “A huge part of my development as a swimmer is due to that club and the coaches there,” he said.
“I’m incredibly grateful and I always love going back whenever I get the chance.”
Greenbank’s journey shows that stars can come from anywhere if they have the right guidance and grounding. Of Cockermouth, he smiles: “It’s four lanes, 25m, freezing cold in winter and boiling hot in summer. It’s a pool in the ground with water in it.
“I think what makes the club in Cockermouth so special is they’ve created an environment whereby it allows young swimmers to thrive. It’s got a culture of creating junior swimmers. For myself, that led to some senior success and I’m incredibly grateful to all the coaches there as well as all the swimmers.”
Greenbank was a Cockermouth School student before the demands of elite level swimming totally dominated his world. “I loved it. I loved school. I miss it,” he says.
“When my dad always used to say school is the best days of your life I was like, ‘Naah…’
“But I realise how much I enjoyed just messing around with my mates every day. I think some of the teachers who taught me are still there now. I saw some of them in the pub when I was back after the Olympics…”
Those teachers, along with many more people in Cumbria, will be cheering Greenbank on when he hits the water in Birmingham and attempts to backstroke his way to further medal glory, in front of a home crowd.
The Commonwealth Games, for Greenbank, are the filling in a sandwich of top competitions this summer. They follow the recent Worlds in Budapest, where the Cumbrian brought home a silver and bronze medal, while next month sees the European Championships in Rome.
It is, he admits, a hectic schedule but “kitting out” day in Loughbourough this week, when Greenbank received his Team England gear, helped cement the current focus on the Commonwealths.
“Now it starts to become a bit more real,” he says. “Getting your kit is something quite special.
“For this summer, it being a bit different with three major competitions, it’s been a case of taking it one step at time. After the Worlds, now the Commonwealth Games is the focus, and we’ve got a short week or so before we head into the European Championships as well.
“It’s about prioritising the next competition, taking it one step at a time, trying to make the most out of each competition.”
Greenbank says the Commonwealth Games are “right up there in terms of prestige”, and the chance to compete in front of a home crowd is a special opportunity.
“I remember being 14 or 15 watching the London Olympics [in 2012] and thinking, ‘Wow, that must be pretty special for those GB athletes to go there and compete in front of a home crowd’.
“This is the next best thing. I can’t wait to have my friends and family come and watch me. In the last few years we haven’t really had that opportunity. To have them there in the crowd, knowing they’re watching, will be a massive boost.
“Certainly on my mum’s side of my family, my grandpa’s coming, my auntie’s coming, and I think a few friends have been able to get tickets too, a few people from back home as well. There’s definitely going to be people in the crowd cheering.”
Greenbank will lead Team England’s charge in the 100m and 200m backstroke, and is a likely competitor in the relays too. He will be among the favourites but does not want to consider that as the burden it could become.
“When you are the kind of favourite going into competition, you can get that pressure on you,” he says. “Sometimes it can be detrimental to performing.
“But I just like to go in and…every [200m] race is just four lengths of the pool. I’ve been doing it since I was eight or nine years old. I try not to overcomplicate it and just keep it nice and simple, and hopefully that will lead to my best results.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to go in there, focus on the process and do what I do best. In that way, the results come. The World Championships have given me a lot of confidence, going into this.
“I surprised myself a bit, to be honest. This year has been a bit hectic training-wise, it’s all a bit messy, and I’ve been suffering from illness. To go to World Championships and come away with a couple of medals – I’m really pleased, but I want to build on that. I just have to keep my head steady and do the right things.”
The prospect of coming home to more accolades from those who know him as ‘just Luke’ is clear. Eventually Greenbank will catch his breath after all his recent successes. Until then, he will propel himself through the water in search of more.
“Because it’s been a bit of a whirlwind, I haven’t had time to sit back and look at what’s gone on,” he says of the last 12 months. “I’m aware of it and very proud of what I achieved. But for me I always want to be improving, getting better.
“I want to go to the next Olympics and do better. Having that mindset of wanting continuous improvement is very important for any athlete. I’m just really excited to start again after this season as well, and see what I can achieve next year, and the year after, and the year after…”
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