Price smashes freestyle record

South Mainland ASC swimmer Donnie Price smashed the Shetland open record for the men’s 1,500 metres freestyle in Edinburgh on Saturday.

Competing in the Scottish Swimming National Short Course Championships held in Edinburgh last Saturday, the 16-year-old achieved a 15-second personal best time of 16 minutes 10.89 seconds.

That resulted in 12th place overall and his top position of the three-day competition at the Royal Commonwealth Pool. Price was on top form in all his nine events, gaining PBs in all but one race.

Friday’s best result was a three-second PB in the 400m freestyle with a 4.07.07. The following day, entry times were broken in the 100m breaststroke with a 1.10.65 and in the 200m individual medley (IM) with 2.13.63.

On Sunday in the 400m IM a seven-second PB of 4.42.72 was gained, followed with a half a second improvement in the 200m freestyle with 1.57.29.

To round off a most successful weekend, another Shetland record was established by Price – a new 15/16-year age group time of 2.31.86 in the 200m breaststroke.

Delting Dolphins took two swimmers to the meet and Calum Maccoll managed PBs in the 400m freestyle and IM and in 50m and 200m butterfly.
Jake Swanson also swam well with PBs in the 50m backstroke and butterfly, the 100m backstroke and a five-second PB in the 200m breaststroke.
Felix Gifford, swimming for his new club Coast, qualified for two B finals and won a bronze in the 200m freestyle relay with his team mates.

Andrea Strachan took the silver medal in the 50m breaststroke. Representing Edinburgh University, she found herself in the final against her team mates Katherine Johnson and Corrie Scott. These three have dominated the 50m breaststroke in the UK for the past year and on this occasion it was Johnson who came out on top.

Strachan was also part of the Edinburgh University A team which took the gold in the 4x50m freestyle relay and the 4x100m freestyle relay and the University B team which won silver in the 4x50m medley relay.

Callum Macgregor, competing for the City of Glasgow Swim Team, was part of the 4x50m medley relay team which won the silver medal and also part of the team which took silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay. He did a PB in the 200m freestyle.

Amy Harper, now back in Shetland and representing Lerwick, had a good championships. She has had to adjust to training back in Shetland and fitting training around work, after spending a year at one of the country’s top university training programmes.

Harper was in the B final of the 50m backstroke where she swam a PB for this event and the 50m freestyle where she put in solid performances. She also performed well in the 100m and 200m freestyle.