Christmas comes early for Stirling swimmers at Scottish Short Course Championships

University of Stirling swimmers were crowned top club at the Scottish Short Course Championships in Edinburgh, with several squad members breaking Scottish records in the process. 

With over 20 medal-winners and receiving the top team trophy, the University squad were a dominant force in Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool. 
 
Stirling swimmer Katie Shanahan broke several Scottish records, including being the first Scottish woman to break the sub-60 second barrier in the 100m individual medley. She was ecstatic with the result, saying: “I can’t believe I’ve just done that! I just tried to execute the race plan as well as I could, and I’m happy I did that.” 
 
Shanahan’s success didn’t stop there, with her going on to set age group Scottish records in the 200m individual medley and the 200m freestyle events. She also secured silver in the 4x50m mixed front crawl medley. 
 
Being a new addition this year to the Stirling high-performance swimming programme, Shanahan spoke highly of her move to the University: “It’s been a really exciting time, changing programmes, and it’s really paying off. I’ve sawn quite well this weekend, and I’m now excited for the long course season, excited for trials, and just seeing how fast I can go.” 
 
Back in action after an injury kept her out of the pool for the majority of 2022, Kathleen Dawson secured gold in the 100m backstroke. Happy to be able to compete again, she said: “It’s so good to be back in the water after the turbulent year and a half that I’ve had, racing under the lights in front of a crowd again. I would have liked to have gone a little bit faster in the final there tonight, because I know what I’m capable of, even when I’m just back in the water, so a bit bittersweet, but overall, the emotion is happiness.” 
 
She claimed a further gold in the 4x50 mixed medley relay with fellow Stirling teammates Rory Dickson, Duncan Scott and Emma Russell, as well as a silver medal in the 50m backstroke. 
 

Earlier in the meet, Evan Jones managed to beat out the competition to take a gold medal in the 400mn Individual Medley. Reflecting on his performance, the Stirling scholar said: “I thought I was pretty decent to 200, maybe slightly slower than I wanted to be, but then my breaststroke was especially strong. That’s improved a lot in the last year, and I came home strong with my freestyle. I can’t complain with a big PB.” 
 
Jones went on to set another Scottish age group record in the 200m front crawl, as well as picking up a silver medal for his performances in the 4x50 mixed front crawl relay. 
 
Like Shanahan, Jones also decided to move to the University of Stirling to join the high-performance swimming programme this year, under the tutelage of resident coaches Steve Tigg and Brad Hay. He said: “I’ve joined Stirling, working under Steve and Brad, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s quite different being at university and being away from home. The only thing I’m not enjoying so far is the cooking!” 
 
The University’s high-performance swimming programme helps support students to combine their studies with training and competing at the highest level of swimming.