Stirling athletes contribute seven of Team GB’s eight gold swimming medals at European Championships

The University of Stirling’s reputation as a powerhouse in international swimming was again cemented across the weekend as its athletes contributed seven of Great Britain’s eight gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships.

Coming just weeks after a record-breaking Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the performances of Stirling swimmers in Paris also resulted in them delivering one of Team GB’s two silver medals in swimming, as they smashed a host of British and Championship records too.

In the opening three days of the meet, there were individual golds for Katie Shanahan (200m Backstroke) and Angharad Evans (100m Breaststroke), and two team golds for relay teams consisting of Jack McMillan, Duncan Scott and Tom Dean for the men, and Freya Anderson for the women. And the Stirling group – led by the University’s Head Coach Ben Higson, who was coaching in Paris with Great Britain – finished the week as they had started it.

Angharad Evans continued her phenomenal few weeks by adding a 200m Breaststroke silver to her earlier gold, before Jack McMillan, Freya Anderson and teammates added another British gold in the Mixed 4x200m Freestyle. In-form Keanna MacInnes won the 200m Butterfly to further raise Team GB’s place in the medal table before playing a key role in the gold won by Britain in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay – a team which also included Angharad and Katie Shanahan.

As the curtain was brought down on this year’s Championships, Great Britain topped the overall medal table, which includes all aquatics disciplines (artistic swimming, diving, high diving, open water and swimming) – with 14 gold, four silver and eight bronzes. In swimming, Team GB won eight gold, two silver, four bronze.

David Bond, Director of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling – UK Sports University of the Year 2027 (Daily Mail University Guide) and Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – congratulated the swimmers on their incredible few weeks, which included returning from Glasgow 2026 with 23 medals.

He said: “The University of Stirling continues to stand top of the podium when it comes to developing and nurturing the nation’s talent in the pool – illustrated by our group contributing seven of Great Britain’s eight swimming golds in Paris. It comes just weeks after 18 of our swimmers competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and returned with 23 medals.

“A huge congratulations goes to our swimmers on their incredible achievements in recent weeks, and to their coaching team – Ben Higson, Brad Hay, Josh Williamson and Charlie Boldison – as well as their wider support network here at the University and beyond. Well done to all.”

Individual medals

Angharad Evans: 100m Breaststroke gold, 200m Breaststroke silver

Breaking the Championship record twice in 24 hours, the double Commonwealth Games champion Angharad Evans swam the 100m Breaststroke final in 1:04.87 – touching the wall ahead of Ireland's Mona McSharry (1:05.41) and Italy's Benedetta Pilato (1:05.89). Angharad’s time in the final bettered the previous Championship record time she had set during the heats, of 1:04.97.

Speaking after the final, Angharad, 23, said: “It’s pretty surreal. I just wanted to break that 1:04.90 barrier. That was the fire in my belly that I needed – I wasn’t too focused on the medal, just my own race and breaking my own record, and I knew that if I got that right the medal would come to me – and that’s just what I focused on.

“I didn’t let the nerves get to me; so, that’s such a big step forward in my career.” 

Two days after her gold medal success, Angharad finished second, taking the silver medal, in the 200m Breaststroke final. She recorded a time of 2:21.21, behind Evgeniia Chikunova (2:19.32), Russian, competing for Neutral Athletes B) and ahead of Ireland’s Mona McSharry (2:22.43).

Katie Shanahan: 200m Backstroke gold

In the 200m Backstroke, Katie Shanahan set a British record with a 2:06.13 in the final to take first place, ahead of Portugal's Camila Rodrigues Rebelo (2:07.62) and France's Pauline Mahieu (2:08.63).

Speaking after her win, Katie, 22, paid tribute to the support she receives, including at the University. She said: “Reflecting on the whole year, I would not be standing here right now without everyone back home - the support staff, the coaches, physios, psychologists, everyone that's been able to get me here. It's really true the saying that 'it takes a village' - it really does, there's a lot of people who have been behind me and who have helped me get this medal today, and I'm just so grateful for that and just a massive thank you to everyone who has helped me.”

Keanna MacInnes: 200m Butterfly gold

Keanna MacInnes – who won two silver medals at Glasgow 2026 – continued her impressive form in Paris, winning the 200m Butterfly with a time of 2:05.90, ahead of Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl Bach (2:06.14) and third-placed Laura Cabanes Garzas (2:07.21).

Notably, in the 100m Butterfly earlier in the week, the 24-year-old set a new British record of 57.25.

Relay golds

In the Women's 4x200m Freestyle, Freya Anderson (1:56.76) anchored home the British team – which also included Freya Colbert, Abbie Wood and Leah Schlosshan – in a Championship record time of 7:45.93, ahead of Hungary (7:49.09) in second and a neutral team in third (7:49.13).

In the Men's 4x200m Freestyle, Jack McMillan (1:46.62) and Duncan Scott (1:45.39) swam alongside James Guy and Matt Richards to deliver gold for Team GB, with a time of 7:01.52 - ahead of France (7:02.23) and Germany (7:02.28). Stirling’s Tom Dean swam the heats for the race and received a gold medal. 

In the Mixed 4x200m Freestyle Relay, Jack McMillan and Freya Anderson competed alongside teammates Matt Richards and Freya Colbert – setting a new British and Championship record with a time of 7:24.13. Jack led out with a time of 1:47.09, while Freya anchored the team home in 1:55.96, finishing ahead of Germany in second (7:25.43) and Neutral Athletes B (7:26.35) in third.

In the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, following their individual successes across the week, Stirling’s Angharad Evans and Keanna MacInnes, alongside teammates Lauren Cox and Freya Colbert, swam a British and Championship record of 3:53.50 – enabled by Angharad recording the fastest female breaststroke relay split in history (1:03.75).

Keanna touched the wall in 56.81 on the Butterfly leg – leaving Freya Colbert to go head-to-head with Italy’s freestyler Emma Virginia Menicucci, with Freya touching the wall just one tenth of a second ahead of her opponent, gifting Great Britain gold. Italy was second with (3:53.60) and Neutral Athletes third (3:53.79). The University’s Katie Shanahan also received gold for swimming in the heats.

Excellence

The University of Stirling is UK Sports University of the Year 2027 (Daily Mail University Guide) and Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence.

Through the powerful and inspirational combination of performance sport, recreational sport, research and education, we are delivering medals on the world stage, improving the health and wellbeing of the nation, and producing the next generation of leaders within sport.

At Stirling, athletes have access to world-class facilities, including a 50-metre pool, a state-of-the-art indoor golf studio, unrivalled outdoor space, and state-of-the-art strength and conditioning suites. In addition to its coaching and facilities, Stirling’s International Sports Scholarship Programme – one of the largest high-performance programmes in the UK – offers athletes funding support, academic flexibility, equipment and kit. It has supported hundreds of athletes since its inception in 1981 – with many competing on the world stage, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Core sports include swimming, tennis, golf, triathlon, football, rugby and curling, while individual scholarships cover all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

Read more about sports scholarships at the University of Stirling.