Kara Hanlon was the star of the opening day of the British Championships in Sheffield, with the Isle of Lewis native not only becoming British champion but also breaking the Scottish record in the process.
The 25-year-old touched the wall in 30.50 seconds in the 50m breaststroke final, almost a full second ahead of the field.
“It’s a Scottish record so I really can’t ask for any more than that,” said Hanlon, representing the University of Edinburgh. “It’s a great confidence boost to break that record. I sometimes lose a bit on the dive but then when I get up into my full speed, that’s when I’m at my best.
“The 50m is a fun event and it’s hopefully now looking good for the 100m. This 50m shows I’ve got some good speed in there and I’m hoping that’ll help me down the first 50m in the 100m.”
Katie Shanahan, the rising star of Scottish swimming, had to settle for silver in her opening event of the meet, with the 18-year-old nudged into second place in the 400m individual medley by European medallist Freya Colbert.
These championships double as the trials for the World Championships in Japan in July, and so harsh are British Swimming’s qualification standards, a British title does not guarantee selection.
However, both Shanahan and Colbert dipped under the qualification time, so the Glaswegian will be off to Japan, easing the pressure on the teenager for the remainder of the meet.
“I’m happy getting the time. It’s always a great race with Freya so it was good to have her next to me,” said Shanahan, who joined the lauded University of Stirling training group last year. “I’m a little bit disappointed. With the training I’ve been doing, I’d been hoping I could go a little bit faster than that, but these things happen.
“I always know that if I go out fast, I can hang on so that’s what I tried to do. And having Freya next to me pushed me on.
“I’m really excited for the rest of the meet. Now that [World Championships qualification] is out the way, I can breathe a sigh of relief and just focus on having fun.
“I always look forward to the 100m and the 200m [backstroke] and so I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Loughborough-based Charlie Hutchison from Dumfries and Galloway won his first medal at this level, claiming bronze in the 400m freestyle in a hard-fought battle, while Evan Jones was seventh.
Olympian Lucy Hope won bronze in a high-quality 200m freestyle final which saw former European champion Freya Anderson take gold and Abbie Wood claim silver.
Archie Goodburn, in the 100m breaststroke final, also won bronze, with James Wilby winning gold. However, Olympic champion Adam Peaty was absent after choosing to skip the meet due to mental health issues.
Scott Gibson was fourth in the 50m backstroke final, missing out on a spot on the podium by just seven hundredths of a second.
In action today is Olympic gold medallist Kathleen Dawson, who continues her comeback from injury when she goes in her specialist event, the 100m backstroke, with Shanahan also on the start list.
Hanlon will also return as she attempts to add to her success, this time in the 200m breaststroke.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Goodburn will be an outside chance of claiming a podium place, with Englishman Wilby the favourite.
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