Scott, Murdoch & Miley Highlight 2017/18 Scottish Perf Squads

Scottish Swimming has announced its National Performance Squad rosters for the 2017/18 season, with several familiar faces returning to the fold. Among the designated groupings, the ‘Gold Squad’ consists of the nation’s top competitive swimmers, comprised of athletes who have either won or are likely to win medals at competitions such as the Commonwealth Games.

The ‘Gold Squad’ held a roster of 25 athletes for the 2016/17 time span, but has been reduced to 23 for this upcoming season. 7 athletes, or roughly 30% of the roster, hail from the University of Stirling, while the next-highest representation of 4 swimmers stem from the University of Edinburgh. We just reported today how one of Stirling’s head coaches, Ben Higson, will be making the move to Swim Ireland next month, leaving Steven Tiggs as the sole Head Coach, at least for now, in Stirling.

Among the high-profile athletes making the top grade from Stirling include two-time Olympian Craig Benson, European Champion Ross Murdoch, two-time silver medalist in Rio, Duncan Scott, and former Florida Gator Dan Wallace. Wallace is still currently serving a suspension for driving under the influence, but will be eligible for competition come September 12th.

Hannah Miley, finalist in both Rio and Budapest in the women’s 400m IM event, made the grade, as did Mark Szaranek, another Florida Gator, who just missed out on the men’s 200m IM final at Worlds.

Per the Scottish Swimming High Performance Plan, the national squads are determined based on the athletes’ performances and participation enables delivery of a wide range of activities, including educational curriculum, training and competition experiences, as well as individual support delivered primarily by the Scotland Institute of Sport.

Below is a complete listing of the National Senior Gold Performance Squad, with the additional rosters able to be seen here.