Stephens has come a great distance from her county championship days with Colchester Swimming Membership however the journey has include obstacles – and never simply her childhood dislike of the water.
“She had fairly a number of challenges – she was asthmatic, she’s coeliac – and nothing was going to face in her manner,” Younger mentioned.
“It was simply written by her, like a stick of rock, champion was written by her.”
Stephens made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, ending sixth in her semi-final and lacking out on a spot within the ultimate by a second.
Now, she’s going to journey to this summer time’s Video games in Paris with a lot greater expectations.
“In Tokyo, I did not carry out precisely how I wished to,” Stephens mentioned.
“That is one thing that I am positively trying to rectify this summer time – to be within the ultimate and hopefully be within the struggle for a medal within the 200m butterfly.”
Younger, who coached Stephens from the age of 9 to 14, was with the swimmer when she had her first style of the Video games on the 2012 Olympic qualifiers.
“I bear in mind we have been allowed to go in earlier than and we have been allowed to go to all of the swimming pools and we jumped up on the rostrum and took photographs,” Younger mentioned.
“It was completely fabulous to then suppose she was on the 2020 Olympics and now Paris.
“From these Olympic trials when she was a bit of lady, she has now made that journey.”
Stephens’ story is featured on Hometown Hero, accessible to hearken to now on BBC Sounds.