Aberdeen swimming star Toni Shaw was “so, so happy” with her bronze medal in the S9 100m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
A 1:03.75 final swim from Shaw, 18, meant she finished just one one-hundredth of a second behind Australia’s Emily Beecroft in second-place to win her first-ever international medal in the blue and white of Scotland. New Zealand para-swimming legend Sophie Pascoe took the gold.
Afterwards, Shaw said: “I’m so, so happy. I’d just seen Katie Shanahan go and get a medal and absolutely smash it, so I was like: ‘I’ve got to live up to that and keep Scotland going well’.
“I’m just really happy. Being part of Team Scotland, we don’t get to do it very often, and it’s just an amazing experience, everyone’s so lovely and we just come together.”
Also delighted to receive a Perry the Bull mascot toy to go along with her medal, Shaw added: “I’m absolutely buzzing. I’m just so excited to get one of the toy bulls!
“There were so many girls who went similar times in the semis so I’m happy to be on the right side of the finish.
“My family haven’t seen me race for so long and I saw them tonight so that made it really special.”
Former Albyn School pupil Shaw was Scotland’s youngest athlete when she went to Gold Coast 2018, aged just 14.
Her promise in the pool was crystal clear back then, and her first Commonwealth medal is just the latest in a string of international medals she has collected in the years since, many of which have come swimming for Great Britain.
Shaw was the first of Team GB’s Scottish contingent to medal when she picked up a bronze at last year’s Tokyo Paralympics in the longer 400m freestyle – an event she went on to claim the world title in earlier this year.
The 400 free isn’t on the schedule for Birmingham 2022, however, Shaw demonstrated her versatility – and sheer love of racing – in taking Scotland’s fifth medal of the Commonwealths over the shorter sprint distance.
Ex-University of Aberdeen Performance Swim Team athlete Shaw, who now trains at the University of Stirling where she is studying business, said: “When I finished worlds I tried to turn myself into a sprinter.
“I’ve not quite got it yet, but I just love racing – so any race I got I was super happy to do.
“I’m just glad it (the one one-hundredth) was for third, not fourth!”
Aberdeen swimmer Shaw had earlier blasted through her S9 100m freestyle heat in a time of 1:04.98.
Lewis’ Kara Hanlon secured a place in Saturday’s women’s 50m breaststroke final when swimming 31.20 to finish behind England’s Imogen Clark and South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker in her semi-final.
Hanlon was sixth-fastest in qualifying earlier on Friday, with a time of 30.99s.
North rugby sevens duo and triathletes in action
Meanwhile, Highland rugby duo Jacob Henry and Paddy Kelly were in action for the Scotland sevens as they got their Commonwealth Games campaign off to a winning start.
FT | Scotland Men get their Games up and running in impressive fashion with a 7-try win over Tonga, with Jake Henry, Jordan Edmunds, Jamie Farndale and Alec Coombes adding to a first-half Femi Sofolarin hat-trick in Birmingham. #B2022 | @Team_Scotland pic.twitter.com/zbmUcpXxsf
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) July 29, 2022
Henry was on the scoresheet as Scotland ran in seven tries in a 41-0 win over Tonga, and the Scots backed that up with a 50-12 result against Malaysia, in which Henry crossed the white line another three times.
Elsewhere, Elgin triathlon duo Cameron Main and Sophia Green posted respectable finishes in the men’s and women’s sprint races. Main came 14th in a time of 52:19, while Green took 17th in 58:33.
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