British swimmer Archie Goodburn diagnosed with incurable brain tumours but vows to 'remain positive'

The diagnosis came following tests conducted after this year’s Olympic trials, which discovered he has three large oligodendrogliomas – a rare and progressive form of brain cancer that cannot be surgically removed.

The 22-year-old athlete, who secured bronze in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships in Hungary and has competed for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, announced his diagnosis in a heartfelt Instagram post.

He shared: “Six weeks ago, my life experienced a profound change as I was diagnosed with three brain tumours. In December 2023, my training began to be interrupted by strange episodes. These episodes, initially thought to be hemiplegic migraines, would occur during hard training.

“They would leave me with a loss of strength and a numb sensation on my left side, a deep feeling of fear, nausea and extreme deja vu. 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.

“I was determined on achieving my dreams, so I continued to train on through the seizures. I narrowly missed the Olympic team by just a few tenths of a second, placing third in an event with only two spots.

“With the trials behind me, I dug deeper into what was really causing these attacks. An MRI in May finally revealed what I’d begun to fear the most.”

While surgery is not an option, Goodburn remains hopeful about his treatment prospects, saying: “The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumour types. They are often slow-growing and these tumours are likely years old.

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