2020 Tokyo Olympics (which, like everything else, were postponed due to COVID-19).Gunning let the ridicule motivate him. “For me, it was just a motivation to prove them wrong and get selected for Team GB and be away for weeks from school and then come back and show them my medals,” he tells Reuters.Gunning grew up in the UK, taking his first national swimming title at age 13.
By age 16, he qualified for the European Open Water Championships.Related: WATCH: 2 Men Trapped By Mob In Jamaica For “Appearing” GayThree years ago, having survived the bombing of the Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert, Gunning decided to emigrate to Jamaica.