Rapid Renshaw rounds out World Short Course with bronze

In a race where a mere 0.11 seconds separated the top three at the end of a nip-and-tuck closing 25m, Renshaw attacked the contest from the blocks, taking an early lead and holding on to it well at 150m. 

The final 50m were incredibly competitive across lanes two to six. But Loughborough National Centre athlete Renshaw had already shown her sprinting speed by twice breaking the British record in the 100m event earlier in the week - and it showed here, as she charged to the wall to touch third for bronze, narrowly outside her personal best. 

At the end of a year that featured European Championship gold and another Olympic final, it was an exciting way to round out 2021 for Molly.

"I'm really happy with that. Obviously it was a really close race at the end, so it's gutting to just miss out on gold or silver - but it's been a really long year, and to get so close to my personal best time, I'm really happy," said the 25-year-old, who is coached by David Hemmings. 

"Next year is going to be really busy with a Worlds, Commonwealths and Europeans, so now I'm just going to take a bit of a break over Christmas, reset and go again in January. 

"I think exploring the 100m a bit more is definitely going to be part of my programme into next year, and I'm quite excited about that, because that's where I think I've got quite a bit of room for improvement. My 200m, I'm really happy with that, and if I can keep chipping away at it then great, because there's a lot of room for improvement on the 100m."

The result means a small British team end a disrupted meet with Renshaw's bronze and the Men's 50m Freestyle title for Ben Proud, won on day four, rounding out a year that also featured historic results at both Olympic and European level. Attentions now turn to end-of-year breaks for athletes, coaches and staff, before 2022 begins, bringing with it the prospect of a World Championship-Commonwealth Games-European Championship run from May to August.