Almost 600 of Britain’s best swimmers will be in action in the same pool over the next six days for the biggest domestic swimming competition of the year - and Loughborough College students are amongst them.
The 2014 British Gas Championships get underway today at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow with competitors in high performance able-bodied and para-swimming races all aiming to secure home nation selection for this summer’s Commonwealth Games, also taking place in the city.
Six Loughborough College BTEC Sport students will be racing including Francesca Halsall, a British record holder in seven events, Eleanor Sheridan, Molly Renshaw, Siobhan- Marie O’Connor, James Taylor and Sophie Taylor.
Four–time Paralympic gold medalist Ellie Simmonds, an A-level student at Loughborough College, provided one of the event’s most notable historic moments in 2012 when she set a world record in the MC 200m individual Medley final, completing the course in just over three minutes.
Siobhan-Marie O’Connor smashed her personal best to lead 200m Freestyle qualifiers from the opening session today, clocking the fourth fastest time by a British swimmer in history to win her heat in 1:57.23. And she was back in action later in the session, again winning her heat to reach tonight’s 100m Butterfly semi-finals, setting 59.70 to progress third fastest behind Francesca Halsall (58.65) and Rachael Kelly (59.09).
Fran Halsall, Britain’s top female swimming sprinter, will be competing in five events and defending titles in 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle and 50m butterfly and says this year is about deciding what events she races in Rio. “An Olympic medal is the only medal I haven’t got in my collection,” she told BBC Sport.
Sophie Taylor set a personal best 31.04 to lead the way into tonight’s 50m Breaststroke semi-finals.
Former Loughborough College student, English record holder and defending silver medallist Dan Fogg qualified for the 400m Freestyle final, clocking 3:51.81 to progress sixth fastest, while another former College student Liam Tancock, Briain’s most successful male swimmer of the past decade, was one of the fastest two qualifiers to reach the semi-finals of the 100m Backstroke.
Loughborough College Elite Sport Team Leader Matt O’Dowd said: “The British swimming championships are an important stepping stone towards the Commonwealth Games held in the summer.
“Many of Loughborough Colleges swimmers will be looking to perform well and secure selection in what is a dress rehearsal for the games as they are held at the same venue.
“For many of our swimmers this will begin the most important week of the season as they attempt to qualify, while for or some of our highest profile swimmers, such as Fran Halsall, this is a great opportunity to demonstrate medal winning potential at the Commonwealths.”
Picture shows Siobhan-Marie O’Connor in today’s 200m Freestyle race