Eight University of Stirling swimmers selected for World Championships

Eight swimmers from the University of Stirling – Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – will compete for Aquatics GB at this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

Duncan Scott, Angharad Evans, Keanna MacInnes, Katie Shanahan, Holly McGill, Freya Anderson, Lucy Hope and Jack McMillan have been selected for the competition, running July 27 – August 3.

They will be joined in Singapore by University of Stirling Head Performance Swim Coach Ben Higson and High-Performance Swim Coach Bradley Hay, who have been selected to support the team.

David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “We are delighted that eight swimmers from our high-performance swim programme will compete in Singapore this summer. It is an incredible achievement to be selected for a World Championships, and I’m very proud that Stirling will be well represented at the competition.

“Congratulations to all our swimmers, and to Ben and Brad, on their selection.”

Duncan Scott (left), pictured alongside James Guy, will compete in Singapore (image credit: Morgan Harlow for Aquatics GB).

The selection announcement from Aquatics GB follows a thrilling week’s racing at the Aquatics GB Championships in London, where Stirling athletes won 13 events and medalled in nine more. 

A total of 28 athletes have been selected for the Championships. The University's former Head Performance Swim Coach, Steve Tigg, will head up the team in his new role as Swimming Head Coach of Aquatics GB. Evan Jones, who is a student at the University but trains in Manchester, has also been selected for the team.

Chris Spice, Aquatics GB Performance Director, said: “We were treated to a week of top-quality racing at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, with so many Worlds selection times met and countless finals going down to the very last strokes. It is always a pleasure to see events being moved on as well, so a special mention to Angharad Evans and Oliver Morgan for their respective British records, which bode really well for the season ahead.

“This is an exciting team that genuinely combines world-class experience in the sport's biggest arenas with a host of up-and-coming talents who we hope can gain invaluable insight in the summer, both in terms of competition but also being around our athletes and staff in a World Championship environment. As always, the focus for everyone involved is on delivering a season's best performance in the summer, and everything we do between now and late July will be working towards that.

“Seeing how swimmers like Jacob Mills, Max Morgan and Holly McGill delivered in front of packed crowds and a TV audience at the London Aquatics Centre last week means they are already on the right track to do that. Equally, it is always promising to see the way our experienced big hitters, including Duncan Scott, Matt Richards and Abbie Wood, were able to show their class and perform strongly after some well-deserved breaks post-Paris, and that is encouraging in terms this summer, our ongoing relay prospects and the longer-term picture over the next Olympic cycle.”

World-class programme

The University of Stirling offers a world-leading high-performance swim programme, which provides athletes with a bespoke package of world-class coaching, access to state-of-the-art facilities, performance mentoring and access to the latest innovations in sports research. Those on scholarships can also benefit from academic flexibility to support their education alongside their sporting ambitions.

Head Performance Coach Ben Higson leads the programme, supported by Brad Hay, Josh Williamson and Charlie Boldison.