Stirling swimmers win 13 golds at Aquatics GB Championships

University of Stirling swimmers put themselves in contention for World Championship selection with brilliant performances at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in London – winning 13 events and medalling in nine more.

Duncan Scott took gold in three races, while Stirling stablemates Angharad Evans, Freya Anderson, Katie Shanahan, Keanna Macinnes and Suzie McNair all won two golds each.

Shanahan, McNair, Lucy Grieve and Holly McGill won a silver each, and there were bronze medals for McGill, Kathleen Dawson and Jack McMillan, and a double for George Smith.

Notably, the Aquatics GB Championships form part of the Team GB selection process for next year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Stirling’s phenomenal success across the six days of sell-out action at the London Aquatics Centre underlines its position as Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence and a top destination for swim scholars.

David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “A huge congratulations to all our swimmers on their fantastic results at the British Championships – to return with 14 national titles is testament to their talent and the hard work they put in daily here at Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence. It also reflects the world-class coaching and comprehensive support they receive through our celebrated sports scholarship programme.”

Scott secured his third gold medal in dramatic fashion on the final day of the meet, sharing the Men’s 200m Freestyle title with James Guy – with the two inseparable after four lengths of the pool.

Speaking after the race, Scott said: “Me and Jim have been racing for so long, it’s a pleasure always going head-to-head in the last event, you’re always thinking about it all week.

“I was just really happy to be in there, I didn't quite know where I'd be at in this meet, I think I've surprised myself quite a lot and I'm really happy with that, just happy to be involved to be honest, so I'm buzzing with that.”

In other highlights, Evans broke her own British record to clinch the Women’s 100m Breaststroke title – touching the wall in 1:05.37, two tenths inside her previous best. She said: “This seems to be a very special pool for me, either very lucky or something is working in Stirling! Either way, it’s such an honour to be crowned British champion two years in a row. I have the 200m to add to the collection as well this time, and to break a British record in April is just such a good start to the season and we’re barely halfway through to Singapore.”

Earlier in the week, in a nip-and-tuck final, Shanahan and McGill made it a Stirling one-two in the Women’s 200m Backstroke. Shanahan touched for 2:07.91 – inside the World Aquatics Championship selection time. Speaking afterwards Shanahan said: “I knew coming into tonight it was going to be a really tough race with the girls, there’s a lot of depth in that race so to get my hand on the wall first was really nice and to get the qualifying time is a relief as well.

“I think after doing that event at almost every international meet it does help with racing the likes of the Australian girls, it’s good to have that experience under my belt and know how to race it.”

Medal table: University of Stirling swimmers at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships

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.