Aberdeen swimmer Toni Shaw is proud to be part of a strong Scottish contingent selected by Team GB for the Paralympics in Tokyo.
Alongside her in the squad will be training partner Conner Morrison from Turriff, with the pair coming through the performance programme at Aberdeen Sports Village.
There is also Stephen Clegg and Scott Quin from Edinburgh and Louis Lawlor and Andrew Mullen from Glasgow as part of the 23-strong team.
Shaw said: “Having Conner in the team, who I train with every single day, is so special. We know each other so well so to be able to go to the Games with him is so nice.
“Scott (Quin) and Stephen (Clegg) look out for me and give me advice. To be able to go with these guys makes it so much better.
“I’ve been so lucky with being able to get back in the pool. I was out for a bit during the first lockdown but Scottish Swimming managed to get a group of us back in pretty quick.
so excited to announce my selection for the Paralympic Games this summer!! the biggest thank you to my family, friends, teammates and coaches❤️ i can’t wait to race in tokyo it’s a dream come true!🇬🇧🥰@Gregormcswim @UOAPS @britishswimming #ImpossibleToIgnore https://t.co/LgClnQZHcT
— Toni Shaw (@tonishaw_x) June 30, 2021
“I’m back doing normal training now and really enjoying it. It’s been another year to keep training and get faster.”
It is a time of celebration for Shaw and her family. On top of her selection for Tokyo, she also passed her driving test and collected straight As in her higher exams.
Shaw is among 12 debutants and six Scots in the Team GB swimming team for the Paralympics, which get underway on August 24.
She was selected for the Commonwealth Games in Australia aged just 14, competing in the 100m breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle and 200m individual medley.
A year later the University of Aberdeen swimmer won six medals at the World Para Swimming Championships, setting British records in the 100m freestyle and butterfly. She also earned a nomination for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
This summer she will race in the 100m and 400m freestyle as well as the 100m butterfly and keeping the big news quiet has been a challenge for the 17-year-old.
She added: “I’ve known for quite a while – I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.
“It was a bit of a hard secret to keep. When people kept asking me I had to tell them I didn’t know.
“For everyone in the sport, it’s their dream to go to the Olympics and Paralympics, so I’m super-happy.”
She added: “Competing in front of such a big crowd was definitely nerve-wracking. But having done it once it will definitely help going into a big competition.
“As you get older you get used to going to big competitions. I was quite young at the Commonwealths and was quite starstruck with some of the guys on the team, like Duncan Scott and Ross Murdoch. They are really fast swimmers but they’re just really nice people.”