YORK star James Wilby has been named in the Team England swimming squad for the 2018 Commonweath Games in Australia.

Breaststroke specialist Wilby was in the quartet that took the 4x100 metres medley relay title in Glasgow 2014 and will look to help the team defend that Commonwealth crown in the Gold Coast Games in April. The opening ceremony takes place on April 4.

The 24-year-old, from Strensall, used to compete for York City Baths Club but is now registered with Loughborough.

He said: “The Commonwealth Games is always an enjoyable experience. Glasgow 2014 was the first international meet that I ever competed in, and it’s always good because it’s known as the friendly games. It’s good to get some experience and race against some great guys.”

Wilby effectively sealed his selection when winning a hat-trick of gold medals at the Swim England National Winter Championships in Sheffield last month, in the 200m, 100m and 50m breaststroke, securing Commonwealth Games qualification times in the 100m and 50m.

He was the only competitor to clock a sub-minute time in the 100m breaststroke - and only the fourth Brit ever to do so - firstly when notching a personal best of 59.99 seconds in the heat, then lowering it to 59.95. That evening swim cleared the 59.98 qualification time for the Gold Coast.

He had already won the 200m gold but fell just 0.09 seconds short of the Commonwealth selection time. He later clocked 27.58 seconds when winning the 50m.

England will take a 39-strong squad to the pool at the Gold Coast Games.

Team Leader Grant Robins said: “The announcement completes our team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and we’ve got a blend of experienced athletes and some new younger swimmers in our team, this is what the selection policy was designed to achieve.

“We had a great National Winter Championships in Sheffield last month and it’s looking good for the Gold Coast.

"Hopefully by the end of the six days of competition in Australia this April we will have a few medals in the bag, personal best times achieved and lots of great experiences gained ready for the road ahead.”