British swimmer Archie Goodburn diagnosed with brain tumors

LONDON (AP) — British swimmer Archie Goodburn has revealed he has been diagnosed with inoperable brain tumors, discovered after he competed in this year’s Olympic trials.

The 23-year-old Goodburn, who is from Scotland, had experienced numbness and nausea during his training for the Olympic trials. He narrowly missed qualification at the April event.

Goodburn wrote on his Instagram account Thursday that tests showed he has three oligodendrogliomas — a rare cancer.

“Six weeks ago, my life experienced a profound change as I was diagnosed with three brain tumors,” he wrote.

Last December, his training began to be interrupted by “strange episodes” that he thought were migraines. He lost strength, felt numbness on one side, and had nausea.

“I now know that these were in fact seizures. The seizures grew in intensity and frequency in the lead up to the 2024 Olympic trials in April, something I’d aimed for and trained for almost my entire life,” wrote Goodburn, who won bronze in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships in Hungary.

Goodburn, who represented Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, said he's hopeful that radiotherapy and chemotherapy will prove effective.

“The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumor types. They are often slow-growing and these tumors are likely years old,” he wrote.

“I am young, I am fit, I have the most phenomenal support network of friends, the best family I could ever hope for and a fantastic girlfriend by my side,” Goodburn added.

“I am determined to take this head on, to remain positive and to keep being Archie."

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

FILE - British swimmer Archie Goodburn in action, in Birmingham, England, July 30, 2022. Goodburn has revealed he has been diagnosed with inoperable brain tumors, discovered after he competed in this year’s Olympic trials. The 23-year-old Goodburn, who is from Scotland, had experienced numbness and nausea during his training for the Olympic trials in April, 2024. He narrowly missed qualification. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP, File)

LONDON (AP) — England dropped Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Jack Leach from its test squad ahead of the series against the West Indies.

In the freshened-up 14-man squad for the first two tests, England called up three uncapped players: wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith and seamers Gus Atkinson and Dillon Pennington. Young spinner Shoaib Bashir has been preferred to Leach in what amounts to a changing of the guard.

James Anderson was selected but the 41-year-old seamer will only play the first test, at Lord's starting July 10, before retiring.

Bairstow is the most high-profile casualty, dropped on exactly 100 caps. Smith has seen off Bairstow and Foakes to claim the wicketkeeper spot.

England squad: Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson (first Test only), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matt Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's Jonathan Bairstow bats during the men's T20 World Cup cricket match between England and the West Indies at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)