SWIMMERS: James Chapman & Co bags athletes as clients

Manchester firm James Chapman & Co is set to market some of Britain's best swimmers ahead of the Athens Olympics next year after securing 12 top athletes as clients.

The firm has bagged the swimmers - including recent world championship medallists Becky Cooke, James Gibson and Karen Legg - as legal clients but also to act for them as marketing agents.

The swimmers have been given a brand identity by the firm - they recently gathered in Manchester to launch 'Team H2O' - so that they can be marketed as a collective brand as well as individually.

One of the swimmers - world championship gold medallist James Hickman - is a consultant with James Chapman.

Jason Smith, a partner in the firm's sports department, said: 'In other countries, swimming generates massive publicity and we believe that, in the run up to Athens, this is the perfect time for companies to become associated with these leading athletes in what is already a massive participation sport.'

Mr Hickman said: 'There is every chance that at next year's Olympics our swimmers will be the athletes that bring home the most medals and we want to capitalise on this.'

Team H2O member James Gibson, who won Britain's first World Championship swimming gold medal for 28 years in Barcelona in July, said: 'As ambassadors for the sport we really do want to do everything we can to raise the profile of swimming and it's great to be part of a team which is being actively promoted.'

James Chapman already acts for Ligue Europeenne de Natation, swimming's European governing body, in relation to event organisation matters.

The firm is best known for acting for Manchester United football club, but recently expanded its sports practice by recruiting leading rugby lawyer Simon Cohen.

Jeremy Fleming