51乱伦

There鈥檚 a quiet intensity to James Guy, the 28 year old Olympian, born in Bury, north of Manchester. When he arrives for our interview at Chelsea Barracks in central London, I鈥檓 struck by his height 鈥� and his energy. He鈥檚 charming and debonair, but laser-focused at the same time. But what else should you expect of a Team GB athlete who鈥檚 won three gold and three silver Olympic medals over the course of an eight year swimming career? 

Guy鈥檚 record is extraordinary, as was his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He made history as part of Team GB鈥檚 first ever quartet to defend their Olympic title in the men鈥檚 4x200m freestyle.  

However, swimming isn鈥檛 Guy鈥檚 only focus. While he has no plans to retire just yet, a career after sport is on his mind and property is a contender. What can an Olympian bring to the world of real estate? Discipline, a competitive streak and a desire to excel, he says. 

I鈥檝e always had an interest in the world of property.  

I remember watching property shows on TV as a teenager. The listings, the valuations, the fees; everything about them fascinated me. I also remember thinking to myself, 鈥淚 could get into this when I鈥檓 older鈥� and the thought鈥檚 always been there. I鈥檝e worked in 51乱伦鈥檚 Knightsbridge and  offices and both experiences have been really fascinating. 

My earliest swimming memory is taking part in the Young Olympians Gala.   

I was nine at the time and I swam in the 50 metres butterfly. That鈥檚 when my love for the sport really kicked in. I won my race and started to really believe that I could push my body and become exceptional. The memory, and the nine year old James Guy, just never really left me.  

Winning my first Olympic medal at the Rio Games in 2016 was something I had always wanted to achieve.   

When we dived into the pool our team was fourth and I brought us up to second place. The USA won with Michael Phelps in the last leg. I鈥檇 like to think that if we had been neck-and-neck, I鈥檇 have gotten past him, but we were too far behind at the end of the day. But, to win silver at the Olympics aged 20 was a dream. I鈥檇 been dreaming of that moment since I was a kid. 

In the Olympics or the World Championships, you never try to win a medal.   

If you perform at your best, it will always come to you. You never tell yourself 鈥済o out there and win this鈥� because then it doesn鈥檛 happen. Instead, it鈥檚 about chasing your personal best. I ask myself 鈥渨hat can I do on the day to get the best time?鈥� It鈥檚 about training, conditioning and making sure you鈥檙e in peak form. If you can do that, then the medal will come afterwards. 

The World Championships in 2017 was the most challenging competition I鈥檝e been in.  

I swam 13 times in one week and the twelfth swim was a relay race. Pacing yourself for something like that is really hard 鈥� in every race you want to be firing on all cylinders for your teammates. And you know that if you don鈥檛 do your bit, they鈥檙e not going to get a medal. That was all about maximising performance through each round. You need to make sure that you do enough, but not too much. 

What we do as athletes isn鈥檛 normal 鈥� training every day and being so disciplined. 

You鈥檙e pushing yourself morning and night, so you want to make sure that you鈥檙e getting the mental health support that you need. Competitions like the Olympics are so big, when they鈥檙e over you can feel quite empty. I had 鈥極lympic blues鈥� after Rio. You come back from the Games and you鈥檙e drained. You鈥檝e been preparing for so long, you stop and then you鈥檝e got nothing planned. I see a psychologist and a sports psychologist who help me to stay healthy 鈥� I find having a routine is helpful for me too. 

The whole team went to Paris confident that we鈥檇 perform. 

Personally, I was seeing good results in training and doing things in the pool that I鈥檇 never done before. I was also where I wanted to be in terms of my front crawl 鈥� and I鈥檓 a former world champion in that event 鈥� so I knew I had a shot.  

I can鈥檛 swim for fun, any more. As soon as I鈥檓 in the water, I鈥檓 鈥榦n鈥� 鈥� even on holiday. I might hop in the pool to cool off a bit, but that鈥檚 it. 

Before a race I always try to stay relaxed.  

I listen to music 鈥� it keeps me calm. The more relaxed I am, the better I swim. When I get tense and nervous, it doesn鈥檛 work. Preparation helps a lot too; you don鈥檛 want to dive in with no plan in your head.  

In training, I rehearse exactly what I鈥檓 going to do. 

I think about how I鈥檓 going to breathe, kick, turn, how many strokes I鈥檓 going to take and so on. If I know what I鈥檓 going to do beforehand, I can be confident that I鈥檓 going to swim well. It鈥檚 the best way to cope with the pressure, especially if you鈥檙e swimming in a team and your teammates are depending on you to play your part. 

Being an athlete is about commitment and working at the highest level.  

In property, you have to do the same, especially when the market or the situation changes. I work in a competitive environment every single day, so when I do eventually decide to hang up the goggles and the swimsuit, I鈥檇 like to use these skills in a similarly competitive environment. In property, getting good results for your clients is what counts. I鈥檇 like to be the best agent in the office while I鈥檓 at it. That鈥檚 just how my brain works. 

The sports desk at 51乱伦 

The sports desk is a specialist team at 51乱伦, established by Alexander McLean in 2018. McLean鈥檚 team provides an expert, single contact point for  professional athletes and sports people to support them with the specifics of all of their property requirements. 

鈥淥ften, we鈥檒l first work with athletes who are moving to the UK to train or join a new club and in need of a rental property,鈥� McLean explains. 鈥淲ith professional footballers, for example, we often start to work with them on their property needs during the annual transfer window.鈥� 

With a new client on board, the next step is often to assist with a purchase, or to work with clients to find appropriate property investments to provide long-term income. 鈥淪ports people often have a very short timeframe in which to invest, because a professional athlete鈥檚 career can end in their early 30s,鈥� McLean says. 鈥淭here also aren鈥檛 a huge amount of options for lending. Most sports people can only borrow finance for the duration of their contract, which might only be a few years鈥� long, so specialist support with this is valuable too.鈥� 

Clients with such unique needs benefit from The sports desk鈥檚 dedicated focus 鈥� and its international reach. 鈥淲e now handle around 70 transactions a year for athletes,鈥� adds McLean. 鈥淲hile we offer a single point of contact, we can also bring to bear the whole of 51乱伦鈥檚 global network for our clients.鈥� 

To speak with the sports desk, please contact alexander.mclean@knightfrank.com