Scott Posts 1:46 200 Free/1:57 200 IM Double, Evans Threatens British W 100 Breast Record

2024 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SWIM MEET

• Friday, March 8th – Sunday, March 10th
• Royal Commonwealth Pool, Edinburgh, Scotland
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview
• Draft Entries
• Day 1 Prelims Recap
• Results
• Livestream

Since the British Swimming Championships (Olympic Trials) are a month away, we weren’t expecting any crazy-fast swims here at the Edinburgh International Swim Meet.

However, Duncan Scott turned some heads with a strong double, logging victories in the men’s 200m free and 200m IM events.

In the former, 27-year-old Scott clocked a time of 1:46.14 to lead the pack, getting to the wall nearly a second ahead of the next-closet competitor.

Stirling teammate Jack McMillan hit 1:47.06 for silver while Bath athlete Luke Turley turned in a time of 1:49.49 for bronze. For reference, Scott posted a time of 1:49.03 to grab the bronze at the 2023 edition of this same competition.

Next up for Scott was the 2IM where the Olympic medalist produced a solid outing of 1:57.73. That represented the sole sub-2:00 result of the entire final field, with Joe Litchfield snagging silver in 2:01.76 and Evan Jones posting 2:02.76 for bronze.

Again for perspective, Scott’s time last year was 2:01.01, so he was well over 3 seconds quicker this time around.

Also impressive was on-the-rise breaststroke Angharad Evans of Stirling. The 21-year-old notched a time of 1:06.25 to grab the gold in the 100m distance, an event in which she’s been making exponential strides over the past 6 months.

Her result tonight represents a new lifetime best, overtaking the 1:06.65 she earned at last month’s British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Championships.

Evans opened in 31.50 and closed in 34.75 to beat Scottish national record holder Kara Hanlon. Hanlon was right behind in 1:06.90, and Leeds’ Leah Schlosshan rounded out the podium in 1:08.36.

Evans’ result renders her the 12th-fastest performer in the world this season. Additionally, her performance bumped her up the all-time British performers list to now rank #2. Only national record holder Molly Renshaw has been faster, but Evans’ time here fell just .04 outside Renshaw’s 1:06.21 record from 2021.

Additional Notes

• Danielle Hill of Ireland was within striking distance of her national record tonight in the women’s 100m back. The 25-year-old hit a time of 1:00.37 whereas her NR remains at 1:00.18 from 2021. Katie Shanahan logged 1:00.70 as the runner-up and Olympian Kathleen Dawson fell from the top seed to 3rd in 1:00.76.
• Oliver Morgan is making a 53-point 100m backstroke seem routine, as the 21-year-old Birmingham star did it again tonight. Morgan produced 53.69 to handily defeat the field. Brodie Williams, the silver medalist in this event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, snagged silver in 55.38.
• World champion Laura Stephens staked her claim on the women’s 200m fly out of the heats; however, Scottish national record holder Keanna MacInnes came out on top of the pack during tonight’s final. MacInnes fired off a mark of 2:08.52, coming with half a second of her national record, en route to gold. Stephens touched well back in 2:12.65 for silver.
• Dutch swimmer Milou Wijk earned gold in the women’s 50m free, posting 25.31 to just out-touch Hill who turned in 25.38 as the runner-up in her 2nd event of the night.
• Another Dutch swimmer, Jesse Puts, put up a time of 23.45 to earn gold in the men’s 50m fly. The 30-year-old held off the 2023 World Championships gold medalist Casper Puggard of Denmark who notched 23.90.
• Michaella Glenister got the edge over Lucy Hope in the women’s 400m free. The former touched in 4:15.26 to the latter’s 4:15.51 in the tight battle to the wall.
• Olympian James Wilby was the top men’s 200m breaststroker, registering 2:12.03 for the gold.