Heartbreak as swimming champ discovers inoperable brain tumours

A swimming star has gone public with a devastating diagnosis he has been given just weeks after his Olympics dream was crushed.

Archie Goodburn. Photo: Getty, Instagram, @archie_goodburn.

Swimming champ Archie Goodburn has been diagnosed with inoperable brain tumours.

The British swimmer has gone public with heartbreaking details about his health battle and has spoken openly about the shocking discovery found in his brain.

The 23-year-old from Edinburgh said he deliberately overlooked seizures and other strange new physical occurrences to focus on his Olympics qualification campaign this year.

After finally seeing a doctor after the UK’s Olympic swimming trials in April, the news he received was his worst nightmare.

He said he had started to notice numbness in his body and inexplicable seizures in the build-up to the trials – where he missed out on qualification by just a few tenths of a second.

The BBC reported scans and a surgical biopsy showed Goodburn had three large oligodendrogliomas – a rare type of cancer which can affect the brain and spinal cord.

He described the cancer as “incurable” with medical experts determining the growths too big for surgery to be a treatment option.

Archie Goodburn. Photo: Getty, Instagram, @archie_goodburn.

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

“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 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 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.”

He has told his fans he will now undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Archie Goodburn shared his journey with fans. Photo: Instagram.

Archie Goodburn at the 2023 shortcourse championships. Photo: Instagram.

The Scottish athlete competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and won bronze in the men’s 50m breaststroke at the 2019 World Junior Swimming Championships.

His heartbreaking and open announcement left his fans lost for words.

“My brain is what makes me who I am,” he wrote.

“It’s where my personality comes from. Where I store my memories and what allows me to feel emotion. Being honest, along with the fears of missing out, what terrifies me the most is the very nature of what a brain tumour truly is, and the vital part of my being that it threatens. I like who I am and I don’t want to change me.

He has not given up his Olympics dream.

“The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumour types,” he said.

In a lengthy statement on Instagram, he went on to write: “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.

“I’ve found huge motivation from reading stories like @bichanrob — I will be sharing some of my journey here in the hope that I am as successful as him and with the goal of inspiring just one person somewhere down the line in the way he has done for me.

“Thank you to everyone who has messaged me. It means the world and more.”

Originally published as Heartbreak as swimming champ discovers inoperable brain tumours