Swimming champion Archie Goodburn struck down by inoperable brain tumours
Young British swimmer Archie Goodburn has taken to social media to tell fans about his heartbreaking health battle.
Goodburn, 23, has been diagnosed with inoperable brain tumours after suffering what he called “strange episodes” during training.
He has now been told he has a rare cancer and has three tumours in the brain that can’t be operated on.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Six weeks ago, my life experienced a profound change as I was diagnosed with three brain tumours,” said on social media.
“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.
“These seizures grew in intensity and frequency in the lead up to the 2024 Olympic Trials in April.”
The breaststroke swimmer — a British champion who competed for Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in 2019 — placed third in the 100m event at the trials and just missed out on qualifying for the Olympic team.
After the trials he had an MRI scan that confirmed he had three large oligodendrogliomas — “an extremely rare form of incurable diffuse and progressive brain cancer”.
“With the trials behind me, I dug deeper into what was really causing these attacks,” he said.
“An MRI in May finally revealed what I’d begun to fear the most.
“The silver lining to this diagnosis is that oligodendrogliomas generally respond better to radiotherapy and chemotherapy than many other serious brain tumour types.
“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.”
After sharing the news, he said had been “overwhelmed” by messages of support.
He said he was unable to provide “proper responses” but hoped his detailed Instagram post would provide clarity for people who were concerned for his wellbeing.
