A host of Britain’s Tokyo Olympians led the way in qualifying as the British Swimming Glasgow Meet kicked off with Thursday evening heats at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.
While this meet will serve as the final opportunity for aspiring Olympic hopefuls to secure their place on the team, those who have already booked their spot come into the event off the back of a stunning European Championships performance in Budapest.
Abbie Wood secured European silver in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley, and she showed her form again by putting in a controlled performance to finish top of the pile in the heats here. Candice Hall also looked good in placing second, while SM6 athlete Maisie Summers-Newton put down an eye-catching time, well under the Paralympic consideration mark that she also surpassed at the British Para-Swimming International Meet in April.
Max Litchfield was the fastest in the men’s event, leading home Duncan Scott in the third and final heat. Brother Joe Litchfield served up another reminder of his fine underwater work on the way to qualifying second-fastest for Friday morning’s final.
The promising Keanna MacInnes was fastest qualifier in the Women’s 100m Butterfly ahead of some more experienced rivals, before James Guy did what he does best to power through two laps and lead home his competitors in the men’s heats.
University of Stirling star Kathleen Dawson – arguably the standout British performer in Budapest – and Loughborough National Centre athlete Elliott Clogg were the fastest over the Women's and Men's 200m Backstroke respectively, before the ‘splash and dash’ of the 50m Freestyle got its first outing of the meet. Fresh from individual freestyle podium placings at the European Championships, Ben Proud and Anna Hopkin both showed their quality ahead of the Friday finals to qualify fastest – and they will push to claim victory in the showpieces tomorrow morning.
There were no surprises in the 50m Breaststroke contests as the sprint events continued. Adam Peaty, fresh from completing the European ‘quadruple quadruple’ laid down his first marker of the week in the men’s heats, with Loughborough National Centre teammate David Murphy the next fastest. Sarah Vasey – another of the Mel Marshall cohort – led the way in the women’s event.
After breaking multiple British records at BPSIM two months ago, Lyndon Longhorne is back in competitive action in Glasgow – and he rounded out the first session of the meet by racing the Men’s MC 150m Individual Medley, stopping the clock at 3:01.18. Earlier, he broke the British S4 50m Freestyle record, going under 45 seconds to better his own mark from earlier this year.
The first clutch of finals start from 10am on Friday morning, when Britain’s elite swimmers will look to act on the words of Head Coach Bill Furniss by racing fast in the evening and then fast again in the morning.
Find out more about the British Swimming Glasgow Meet, including full results and start lists, HERE. You can watch every second of action from Tollcross on the British Swimming YouTube channel.