British Swimming Glasgow Meet Brings Last Chance OLY Opportunity

2021 BRITISH SWIMMING GLASGOW MEET

• Thursday, June 3rd – Sunday, June 6th
• Prelims at 5:30 pm local night before/Finals at 10:00 am local
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre
• LCM (50m)
• Last Chance Olympic Qualifier
• Start Lists – DRAFT
• Live Results
• Livestream

More than 300 athletes will be descending upon the Tollcross International Swimming Centre beginning tomorrow for the British Swimming Glasgow Meet.

The competition marks the largest and most inclusive event run by British Swimming and its partners since the return to competition under COVID-19 protocols, with this meet’s environment being contained in a secure bubble-type format.

For any swimmer who has not achieved a British Swimming-mandated cut in an Olympic event in which there are still slots available, this meet represents the final opportunity to put on a performance worthy of consideration.

With so much on the line, the open category of swimmers was restricted to those with an entry time at least 4% faster than the open consideration time for at least one event. For the junior category of swimmers, they must carry at least one entry time 1% or faster than the junior meet consideration time.

As such, there will be plenty of already-qualified Olympians in the mix, with the likes of Duncan Scott, James Guy and Freya Anderson among the mix. For them, the evening prelims and morning finals timeline will help in acclimating to what it will be like come July in Tokyo.

In terms of key athletes gunning for Olympic spots, we’ll see Joe Litchfield do his best to nail a Tokyo-worthy qualification time in the men’s 100m backstroke. At the British Olympic Swimming Trials in April, Litchfield took the meet title in a time of 54.04, although a mark of 53.85 was needed.

He had another shot at the European Championships, where the Loughborough man logged a mark of 54.83 to place 25th out of the heats. He was able to drop that down to 54.09 leading off the heats of the men’s medley relay but then entered new territory with the first sub-54 second time of his career.

Leading off the mixed medley relay heats, Litchfield nailed 53.92 to come within .07 of the British Swimming mandated standard. We’ll see if he’s able to muster a little more speed to get it done here in Glasgow.

The women’s 200m fly is also seeking a second qualifier behind Commonwealth games champion Alys Thomas who already earned her berth at the British Trials. Behind her there London, Keanna MacInnes produced a time of 2:08.86 for the silver medal, falling just half a second behind the necessary standard of 2:08.32.

She, too, raced at the European Championships, logging a time of 2:09.76 in the semifinals before placing 8th in an ultimate result of 2:10.25. We’ll see if she can get back into the 2:08 or after zone to vie for a roster spot.

Finally, Scottish record holder Lucy Hope is seeking to join Anna Hopkin on the British lineup at least in the 50m free. Hopkin acquired her roster spot via her 24.51 6th place finish in Budapest. For Hope, she tied Isabella Hindley as runner-up to Hopkin at the Trials, posting 25.13.

Hope looks to also be seeking a 200m freestyle bid, having come so close at the Trials. Behind winner Anderson and Abbie Wood, with only the former hitting a QT, Hope touched in 1:57.65 when a 1:57.28 is required. She’ll be looking to make it happen here.