Four swimmers from the University of Stirling have been selected to compete in this weekend’s inaugural LEN European Under-23 Championships in Ireland.
Stirling students Evan Jones, Evie Davis, Keanna MacInnes and Lucy Grieve will represent Great Britain in Dublin, supported by the University’s High Performance Swim Coach, Bradley Hay.
It comes just weeks after swimmers from Stirling – Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – won four medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan and 22 medals at the British Summer Championships. The University’s Oliver Carter also represented Great Britain last week at the Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester.
The European Under-23 Championships – which will run from Friday to Sunday (August 11-13) – is an open event, meaning that non-European countries are also invited to attend.
Evie, from south London, is studying maths at the University. Looking ahead to the competition in Dublin, she said: “It’s obviously really good to be selected – it’s a new international meet, so no one really knows what it’s going to be like. It’ll be a good opportunity for us to compete on the international stage. I’m looking for strong heat swims and hopefully challenge for finals.
“I’ve only joined the University this year – and I love that I’ve made the change. The facilities are world class – there’s not much more you could ask for. It gives us the best preparation for going into international competitions like this.”
Lucy, a first-year biology and psychology student, said: “I’m just really excited – we’ve been waiting for it for a while, and I just can’t wait to go. It’ll be cool to be part of the first European Under-23 Championships; it’ll give us a lot of international race experience and I know a lot of people in the team, so it’ll be great fun.”
First-year student Evan said: “I’m feeling good, I’m excited. I think it’ll be a good competition – it’s the first one of its kind, so we are going to it not knowing quite what to expect but I think it’ll be fun and fast.
“I’m trying to go into it with a no-pressure mentality; just give my best and see what happens.”
Keanna MacInnes, who competed at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, just a few weeks ago, said: “I’m really, really excited, particularly off the back of the Worlds – it is really beneficial for the younger ones to race at an international meet. I just want to swim the best times that I can.”
High Performance Swim Coach University of Stirling
The level of competition provides a great opportunity to race head-to-head with some of the best athletes from across the continent and beyond, and most importantly gives further international race experience ahead of the Olympics next year.
David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “Best of luck to our high-performance swimmers selected to represent Great Britain at the upcoming Under-23 European Championships. It will be fantastic to watch the athletes test themselves against some of the best emerging talent from across the world. We are very proud of their achievements and look forward to following their progress across the event.”
He added: “We’re also proud that Bradley Hay will form part of the Great Britain coaching team at the competition. It is great testament and reward to his commitment for developing athletes to perform at the highest levels of the sport. I have no doubt his extensive knowledge and experience will be a great asset to the team.”
Swim Ireland is hosting the Championships, which will be held at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.
At the World Championships, the University’s Duncan Scott won gold in the Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay, silver in the Men’s 200m Medley, and bronze in Mixed 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay, in which his Stirling teammate Lucy Hope also medalled.
Meanwhile, the University of Stirling team returned from the British Summer Championships with 10 gold, six silver and six bronze medals. University of Stirling medal winners at the British Summer Championships are listed in the table below.
Athlete/Team |
Event |
Category |
Medal |
| George Smith | Men's 200m Individual Medley | 19 and over | Gold |
| Men's 200m Breaststroke | Gold | ||
| Men's 100m Breaststroke | Silver | ||
| Michaella Glenister | Women's 400m Freestyle | 18 and over | Gold |
| Women's 400m Individual Medley | Silver | ||
| Women's 800m Freestyle | Bronze | ||
| Rory Dickson | Men's 100m Breaststroke | 19 and over | Gold |
| Men's 50m Breaststroke | Silver | ||
| Men's 200m Breaststroke | Bronze | ||
| Kathleen Dawson | Women's 50m Backstroke | 18 and over | Gold |
| Women's 100m Backstroke | Gold | ||
| Jamie Robertson | Men's 50m Backstroke | 19 and over | Gold |
| Men's 100m Butterfly | Bronze | ||
| Andrew Bertoli | Men's 200m Individual Medley | 19 and over | Bronze |
| Men's 400m Individual Medley | Bronze | ||
| Evelyn Davis | Women's 50m Freestyle | 18 and over | Gold |
| Abby Kane | Women's 100m Backstroke | Multi-classification | Silver |
| Pierce Greening | Men's 400m Individual Medley | 19 and over | Silver |
| University of Stirling relay | Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay | 17 and over | Gold |
| Men's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay | Gold | ||
| Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay | Silver | ||
| Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay | Bronze |