Latest news with #EuropeanJuniors
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Dumfries swimmers hold their own against the best in the sport at London's Aquatics Centre
Amber Rigg, Amber Hinton and Finlay Nelson competed against top names in the Aquatics GB British Swimming Championships in London . Dumfries ASC swimmers Amber Rigg (17) and Amber Hinton (15) competed in the Aquatics GB British Swimming Championships at the London Aquatics Centre last month. The pair were joined by fellow Dumfries and Galloway swimmer, Finlay Nelson (18), who is a Dumfries 2nd club swimmer and races for the University of Stirling. This competition is also the qualification event for the World Championships in Singapore as well as a host of international teams across age-groups including the European Juniors so it attracted all the top names in British swimming, including Duncan Scott, Freya Anderson, Matt Richards, Amelie Blocksidge and many more. To make the tough qualification times for these championships was a brilliant achievement for the swimmers and the experience they will have gained swimming in an environment such as the Olympic pool will be invaluable moving forward for the remainder of the season and indeed for the seasons ahead. This was Finlay and Amber Hinton's first time qualifying for these Championships. Amber R qualified for five events and started day one with a 50m breaststroke where she finished 67th in the rankings. In day two, Amber raced the 100m backstroke and after a super heat swim made the junior final where she finished in sixth position with a time of 1.04.05. The 50m backstroke was Amber's third event where she finished in 48th place with a time just over the 30 second mark. The 200m backstroke was her penultimate swim where she swam a solid heat to earn herself a super reserve spot for the junior final. Amber's final swim was in the 200IM where again another good swim in the heats earned her second reserve spot for the junior final that evening, highlighting her consistency in competing against the best senior and junior swimmers in Britain. Amber H qualified for five events, but due to a clash in the schedule, chose to swim four. She kicked off her swims on day one with a 200m free where she swam a new pb (2.06.89), moved up 16 places in the rankings to 64th and finished as second 15-year-old girl in the event (age at end of year). Day two was the 1500m free where she further lowered her pb by more than two seconds (set the week before in Aberdeen 17.31.28) in a brilliant race to finish inside the top 30 in 29th place, with only four of the other swimmers in the event swimming faster than her in the last 50m. In the 400m free she again moved up the rankings with a very solid swim. On the final day of racing, Amber swam the 800m free which was another good race where she finished just outside her pb and moved up 12 places in the rankings to 41st, demonstrating her ability to keep up with the best in the country. Finlay qualified for the 50m fly event and swam a good race in a time of 25.85 seconds and finished in 85th position, showing his continued progression while studying in Stirling. The club is very proud of the three swimmers for their achievements competing against the best swimmers in the country and the girls would like to thank coach Anthony Ryan for all the support he gave them in London and over what had been a very busy two weeks of racing. East Kilbride meet Fifteen club swimmers travelled up to the Dollan Aqua Centre in East Kilbride to compete in the long course age group meet last month. The group had great fun showcasing their talents, producing great racing throughout and achieving some personal best times, 50 top 10 placings including 13 medals along the way. Lauren Dunlop, swimming in the 14-15 year age group, had a good swim to take silver in the 400IM. Struan Henry also secured silver in the boys 14-15 yrs 100m backstroke event. Both of these swimmers were back in the medal hunt in the 200m backstroke with Lauren securing a super silver in the girls and Struan swimming a brilliant pb to take bronze in the boys 14-15 year age group. Thirteen-year-old Carter Jones swam a great new pb time in the 100m free to secure a bronze medal and Struan concluded the medal haul for day one with yet another pb in the 50m butterfly to take silver. In day two, the swimmers were ready for another day of racing in the long course pool. Struan was first in with a medal, taking another silver in the 14-15 yrs 50m backstroke event. This was quickly followed up with a trio of medals in the 800m free with Lauren taking gold in the 14-15 yr old girls' event, Carter taking silver in the 10-13-year-old boys and Ali rounding it off with a bronze in the 16yrs+ age group. Millie Colvin swam a solid race to claim a bronze in the 16yr+ girls 100m butterfly and Iona Kellock did the same in the girls 14-15 yrs 200m breaststroke. Carter finished off the medal count on day two with another bronze, this time in the boys 10-13 yrs 50m free. Well done to all the swimmers and the club would also like to thank all the volunteers, including coach Ailsa Nelson.
Irish Independent
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Evan Bailey crowns fruitful week with second freestyle swimming gold medal
The New Ross native and National Centre Limerick performer had a best time of 49.15 and was the only swimmer under 50 seconds, with Larne's Thomas Leggett home in 50.78 for silver and National Centre Limerick's Cormac Rynn winning bronze in 50.81. Bailey had ensured he was the top seed after a personal best swim of 49.17. The 20-year-old finished ahead of three-time Olympian and Irish record holder in the event Shane Ryan. Ryan clocked 49.49 with his best and Irish record a 48.39 from Olympic trials in 2024. There was a third-place finish for Emmet Cousins of New Ross in the open 400m individual medley final in 4:43.72, behind Banbridge's Tom Wilkinson who topped the podium in 4:37.41, and Phelim Hanley (Blackrock) in a European Juniors consideration time of 4:39.77. Cousins had earlier taken silver in the 200m backstroke final in 2:04.80, with Swim Belfast's Brandon Biss winning his first national title in 2:01.16 while bronze went to Bangor's Brydan Byrne in 2:04.81. Eva Bayley of New Ross collected bronze in the 100m butterfly final in 1:03.89, with Alana Burns-Atkin claiming her second gold medal of the week. The National Centre Ulster swimmer swam a personal best 1:00.70 to add to the 200m butterfly title she won on Tuesday night. Silver went to National Centre Limerick's Lucy O'Brien in 1:02.49.
BBC News
05-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Jersey's Nowacki picked for GB world -class swimming squad
Jersey's Filip Nowacki has been named in the 2025 Aquatics GB world-class broke the British age group record for 16-year-olds in the 100m and 200m breaststroke last 17, he won a silver medal at the European Junior Championships over the longer distance last 2023, he became the first Jersey sportsperson to win three Commonwealth Youth Games medals and also took silver at the European Youth Olympics. He has been selected as a Podium Potential athlete, meaning he is thought to have the ability to make the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which allows him access to top tier coaching from Aquatics GB."It's a great acknowledgement of his performances and his rise up through the British swimming ranks," his coach at Jersey's Tigers Swimming Club coach Nathan Jegou told BBC Sport."That was topped off last year with a medal at the European Juniors."It's validation of all the hard work he's done and also all the hard work that is coming his way - once you get recognised like that you've got to keep those performances up and keep driving forward."Nowacki could feature for Jersey at this summer's Island Games in Orkney as well as next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He regularly returns to the island to train when he is not studying at Millfield School in thinks the 2026 Commonwealth Games would be a great chance to show his talents on the full international stage: "We're blessed in Jersey that we have the Commonwealth Games in 2026, that's a big senior international meet coming our way, hopefully he's part of that Jersey team," he said."This year his main aim is European Juniors and World Juniors again, and if he swims well in the British Championships in April you never know, there might be a senior meet on the horizon with Great Britain as well."He's very level-headed, he knows education's important, he knows family's important and he's very calm and he doesn't need to change that - actually he's better off staying the way he is, not thinking too far ahead and just keep doing what he's doing."
Telegraph
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Leader of the pack: Shaunagh Brown on her grassroots rugby journey
There can be fewer more inspiring stories in sport than that of Shaunagh Brown. She's an international athlete who represented England at the Commonwealth Games in the hammer throw and then went on to enjoy a second career as an elite rugby player who was the mainstay of the England pack for several years and reached a World Cup final with the Red Roses. Throw in the fact that she is one of the few women ever to toss a full-sized caber at the Highland Games, as well as training as a commercial diver and a firefighter, and you can get a sense of what this woman is about. Grabbing life in every way she can. All that is impressive in itself, but what Brown has achieved, with the help of a motivating support network, is all the more remarkable because she has done it against considerable odds. And what is even more incredible are her plans for the future, not least in terms of inspiring others to believe in themselves, to appreciate that it is possible to be different and thrive, and that they, too, can have dreams which can be realised. Brown has made it her mission to empower others and be their voice Credit : Gemma Porter Learning to throw 'People have always had my back. Now it's time for me to have someone else's,' says Brown, 34, who currently works for British Gas in marketing – and she says she cannot credit enough their flexibility in previously allowing her to pursue her sporting career. 'I like to be the voice of people who haven't got a voice,' she says. 'My purpose statement is 'empowering others'. That's why I exist now.' Brown grew up in a council house in Peckham, south London, with her mum and two older siblings. She attended a state school and grew up an unashamed tomboy. 'I still am one, really,' she laughs. 'I was usually the only girl among boy cousins, so being the only girl among boys was normal for me. I truly believe that has positively affected my life.' Her PE teachers instilled in her a love of sport and she was a standout player in her school football team before getting into athletics, joining Blackheath & Bromley Harriers athletics club. She started running, got bored and switched to the 'throws' – shot-put, discus and eventually the hammer. Making an impression By the age of 19 she had been to a World Youth Championships, the European Juniors, the World Juniors and the Commonwealth Youth Games. Although she missed out on the Olympics, in 2014 she made the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She was unhappy with her performances and pledged to retire to become a 'normal person'. That resolve lasted two weeks. 'I got bored,' she laughs and in 2015, at the age of 25, she contacted her local rugby club in Medway. She had tried the sport in the sixth form and loved the fact that girls were encouraged to smash into the boys with a tackle bag as hard as possible. 'As young girls we were normally told to calm down, take it easy, don't do so much. But here I was being encouraged to be physically dominant.' Rugby has given Brown opportunities she never could have imagined as a young girl Credit : Gemma Porter Switching sports She blossomed at Medway. 'I knew nothing about rugby. I was big and strong from athletics and I remember the club coach saying: 'This is Shaunagh, she can catch, she's going to be good.' I was thinking: 'Surely everybody can catch – it's an everyday life skill.' I have since discovered that it is not!' Her first game of rugby XVs with Medway was in December 2015. 'After a trip to the Stoop to watch England Women in the Six Nations the following March 2016, I told my mum: 'I could do that.' She said: 'Ok, go on do it.'' From that moment it was all about whatever was needed to play for England. 'I knew that all I had to do was learn the game because physically I had everything else. And I could catch and I could communicate.' After joining Harlequins for the 2016-17 season, England coach Simon Middleton came to watch one of her games – and Brown was not going to miss an opportunity to speak with him. 'I went up to him and told him: 'I'm going to work with you one day.' He laughed a bit and said nobody had ever spoken to him like that before.' Still keen to pursue what life had to offer, she trained as a commercial diver, then began a firefighting training course while still playing rugby at weekends. England then did come calling and – after a two-week camp – she won her first cap, barely two years after her first game of rugby. Making a statement What she refers to as her breakthrough came after the Premiership final of 2021 when she was named player of the match. In the post-game interview she seized her moment. 'I didn't actually hear what the final question was, but I thought to myself, right I've got 30 seconds of TV time here, let's go! I started talking about what a great standard of rugby it was, that this is how women's rugby should be, and that it was a great advert for strong, empowered women. 'I was in tears by the end and I got a great reaction and lots of other people seemed to be crying too. My phone lit up with supportive messages. It was a great moment that said I was more than a rugby player. People cared about what I stood for and how I could empower them.' Biggest setback Without doubt her big regret and disappointment was losing to New Zealand 34-31 in the 2022 World Cup final in what has been described as one of the all-time great matches. 'At least once a fortnight I pause to think about how different life might be if we could have won that day,' she reflects, adding that being part of a victorious World Cup team would have put her and the team on a pedestal and opened up a host of opportunities. Brown thrives on being encouraged to be bold, loud, and to embrace her physicality and strength Credit : Gemma Porter Inspirations 'I owe my mum, Lesley Rickards, so much,' says Brown. 'She let me be the person I wanted to be and needed to be. 'I never remember being told you are a girl so you can't do that. The bar was simply 'Don't get arrested' – which is quite a low bar!' In her sporting life one man stands out, her athletics coach John Hillier. 'John was essentially my father figure growing up,' she says. 'We still have a good relationship. 'We had the sort of arguments people have with their dads. He always wanted more for me. I remember winning the English schools discus at 14 and phoning him up straight away with the news. He said: 'That's good… See you at training on Tuesday because now we have got to win the British schools,'' she recalls. How rugby can change your life Rugby has provided her opportunities she could only have dreamed about as a young girl. Of even greater value has been the impact the sport has had on her as a human being. 'It has opened up a huge part of me I didn't know existed. It has allowed me to be the person I needed to be and grown into that. It showed me it is okay to be different. Mixed race, female, single-parent family, state school; I've always felt different in the different worlds I've been in. 'In rugby I feel appreciated for having a different perspective. Rugby has also put me on a platform and allowed me to get my message across to other people. In athletics, in many ways I was the same person, but I didn't have a following and I didn't get to speak to journalists, whereas now I get to go on TV, talk to journalists, and interacting with the media is very normal. The eyes on rugby have allowed me to empower others. 'On the pitch I love the physical side of rugby, I love that, as a woman, I am actively encouraged to be bold, and loud, more physical and strong, and aggressive.' Making a difference – a proud sponsor of the Welsh Rugby Union – partnered with the Telegraph Media Group to launch its Making a Difference campaign, rewarding individuals who have made a major contribution to grassroots rugby. Read about the Wales winner, David Dixon, and watch the moment Nigel Owens presented him with his prize. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Register number 465053.
