The Vortex - March 2026: Angharad Evans Scares Her Own British Record At Edinburgh International
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Angharad Evans clocked an impressive 1:05.46 to fall just 0.09sec shy of her own British record on day 1 at the Edinburgh International.
At that place, Evans, coached by Ben Higson at the University of Stirling performance centre, was in a class of her own, next best a 1:07.60 from Kara Hanlon, with Anna Morgan on 1:07.65).
Evans’ 1:05.37 national mark was set at 2025 Nationals, while her latest challenge to that marks her sixth swim inside 1:06. It was also the first sub-1:06 in the world so far this year. Early days - and part of a learning curve, says Evans. Speaking through Scottish Swimming's she noted:
“This season has been about learning again. I think I say this every year. I come back and I’m like, I’ve learned something new, but when I think I know it all, there’s something else that I learn. And the past few months of training, I’ve almost unlocked a new pain threshold. The training’s been so hard, and the focus has been on that back end 50.”
“I count myself as a very fortunate person to have not one, but two coaches I got on really well with. And I 100% trust my training. And they (Ben Higson and Brad Hay) complement each other so well. They are such knowledgeable coaches and coming from someone that took a few years out of the sport, and coming back in, their knowledge is, I guess, feeding into me. And it’s given me more confidence in my swimming when I see them believe in me.”
In other action...
The 200m free final featured three of four of Britain's Olympic and Wold-champion 4x200m men, Matt Richards, Jack McMillan, James Guy and Tom Dean.
A tight tussle for three of them for most of the way. It ended with Richards passing McMillan on the way to a 1:46.81 to 1:46.90 victory, Guy third in 1:48.05, while Dean, feeling the effects of just having come down from altitude, came home in 1:50.41 for eighth. Richards said:
“The 200 free as an event keeps pushing on that’s the beauty of it. I think in the UK we just continue to keep driving the needle and every year we seem to keep getting better and better.”
The other big 200 free force in the British ranks, Duncan Scott topped the 200IM in 1:58.79, while Britain teammate Freya Colbert had a similarly class-apart win in the 400m free, on 4:06.16.
Other Day 1 winners:
Oliver Morgan and Lauren Cox over 100m backstroke, on 53.14 and 1:00.49 respectively.
Filip Nowacki, on n 2:10.05 in the 200m breaststroke
Theodora Taylor, on 24.93 in the 50 free
Keanna MacInnes, on 2:08.36 in the 200 'fly
Florine Gaspard & Mary-Sophie Harvey At The Double In Lausanne
Florine Gaspard and Mary-Sophie Harvey took two wins apiece on the opening day of the Lausanne Swim Cup last night.
Gaspard, coached by Mark Faber in Antwerp, topped the 50m breaststroke in 30.55, just 0.02 shy of her Belgian record. Then, at the end of the season, she was back in for victory in the 50 free in 24.61, 0.19 shy of her national mark ahead of French challengers Beryl Gastaldello (24.74) and Marie Wattel (24.77).
Harvey came out on top in a tussle with Anna Egorova over 400m free that ended 4:10.09 to 4:10.38 in the Canadian's favour before she took the 400m medley in 4:40.77 ahead of Italian Anna Pirovano, on 4:42.78.
Among other solid wins:
Alberto Razzetti (ITA), on 4:19.49 in the 400IM
Federico Burdisso (ITA) on 1:57.26 in the 200 'fly ahead of Razzetti's 1:59.18
Maxime Grousset (FRA) on 21.78 in the 50 free ahead of Meiron Amir Cheruti, ISR, on 21.91.
Roman Mityukov (SUI) on 1:56.07 in the 200 back
Caspar Corbeau (NED) on 26.95 in the 50 breast
Also in the March Vortex:
- Target Practice For A Summer Of Divided Speed
- Speed Unending From McKeown As Perkins Hauls Four Golds at the NSW Championships in Sydney
- Tuning Up In Westmont: Gretchen Walsh, Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Sam Short, Léon Marchand, Carson Foster, Chris Guiliano were among those on the crest of the big-wave surfers starting their steady tune-up a the Swim Pro Series - Westmont
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