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Angharad Evans Talks Paris Olympics, Global Silverware & Hitting Her Stride In 2025
Within the first of 2 articles, Angharad Evans talks to Swimming Global about Paris 2024, Global Championship silver and her effective shape in 2025
Angharad Evans has hit the bottom working as she continues the shape that guided her to an Olympic ultimate, Global Championship silverware and British information closing 12 months.
The College of Stirling swimmer received the breaststroke treble on the fresh BUCS Championships, getting her marketing campaign underway with a 30.98 win within the 50.
She adopted that up with 1:06.02 within the 100, the fifth-fastest efficiency within the all-time nationwide ratings crowned by way of her 1:05.54 British document and a time best she has bettered amongst home swimmers.
Evans introduced her person programme to an in depth with a 2:22.64 victory over 200m as she sliced nearly 3 seconds off her PB to carry herself to fifth-fastest British performer.
Angharad Evans: Picture Courtesy: Aquatics GB
She returned to the pool for the general time within the girls’s medley relay the place she posted the quickest breaststroke cut up in British historical past of one:05.14 as Stirling received the name.
Whilst her 200 exceeded any expectancies – “a three-second PB was not on my radar” – Evans had combined emotions about her efficiency within the 100m.
The 21-year-old struggles with nerves sooner than the two-length race, getting butterflies and over-thinking “small things.”
She’s labored on managing them and the use of them to her benefit and in Sheffield Evans additionally became to Ben Higson, who used to be appointed Stirling head trainer after Steve Tigg took up the position of Aquatics GB head trainer.
“One thing about me is that I get so nervous for that because it’s my main event and the 200 I can just let loose a little and play with my tactics going into the race,” she advised Swimming Global.
“I wasn’t fully happy with the 100 in the final, I just feel like there was more work to be done, more things I could’ve changed so that set me up for the 200 and I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I just wanted to put in the best race I can in February leading into trials.”
With fulfillment comes greater self-expectation with the Global Championships in Singapore just a little over 5 months away will have to the British trials in April be safely navigated.
There were 3 Global Championships in as a few years – together with one within the February of Olympic 12 months – with prime 1:05s/low 1:06s sufficient to safe a 100 medal and occasions starting from 2:21.63 to two:23.20 enough for bronze within the longer race.
Evans is already smartly inside of that realm and has her attractions set on some other giant drop within the 200.
“Even now that I’ve simply swum a 2:22 I’m pondering how do I’m going sub-2:20? And that’s simply the mindset that it’s a must to have, it’s a must to adapt and stay pushing ahead as your efficiency will get higher.
“I don’t wish to be caught on 1:06s for 100 breaststroke – how can I am getting to at least one:05s low? How can I am getting to at least one:04s from a relay takeover?
“And it’s just focusing on all the small details like your angle when you dive in, your head when you turn, it’s getting to that point where you have to focus on all the small things that in the bigger picture is where the three-second time drops come from.”
Paris 2024 & ‘Staying Proud But Never Satisfied’
Evans claimed her first British crown on the nationwide championships in April 2024 and even if her profitable time used to be outdoor the minimize, she used to be decided on as a discretionary pick out for Paris.
She swam her manner into the British document books the next months when she rocketed to at least one:05.54 within the 100m breaststroke on the AP Race Global in London.
With that, she sliced 0.67 from the former usual of one:06.21 that had stood to Molly Renshaw for the reason that Ecu Championships in 2021 as she reduced her PB by way of 0.71secs.
She adopted that up with some other adventure within 1:06 on the Sette Colli in Rome for 2d in 1:05.91 as Benedetta Pilato set an Italian document of one:05.44.
Evans arrived in Paris little greater than a month later as she ready to make her senior global debut within the cauldron of Los angeles Défense Area.
Steven Tigg: Picture Courtesy: Ian MacNicol, Scottish Swimming
Whilst there used to be pleasure at sharing a decision room with the likes of Lilly King and Ruta Meilutyte – the 2016 and 2012 Olympic 100br champions – Evans credit Stirling coaches Brad Hay and Steve Tigg with serving to her block out the noise.
“Brad would check in but I also built a relationship with Steve that part of the season as well because I went to Sette Colli with him,” she mentioned. “That’s after I’d open up with the coaches and say I’m moderately frightened for this race after which we’d communicate throughout the season that I’d had – you’ve made it this a long way, it’s no longer a twist of fate that you simply’re right here.
“I trusted the training that I did – it was a very hard block of training – and I think that’s what mentally helped me. I knew I’d put everything into the training, everything out of the pool – nutrition, sleep, I did everything I could to set myself up for this debut swim internationally that I could.”
Evans stepped forward twelfth throughout the prelims sooner than 1:05.99 within the semis positioned her 6th into the general because the likes of Meilutyte and international silver medallist Tes Schouten overlooked out.
Tang Qianting used to be smartly transparent at midway in 29.94 adopted by way of Mona McSharry (30.56) with Evans 3rd in 30.61 as 0.13 separated 2d to 5th.
Tatjana Smith got here thru on the second one 50 to improve Tokyo silver to Paris gold with the South African adopted house by way of Tang (1:05.54) and McSharry who claimed bronze in 1:05.59.
Evans used to be 6th in 1:05.85, a effective end result on her Video games debut however one who used to be tinged with some unhappiness within the months following Paris given she used to be simply 0.26 off a medal.
Whilst recognising what she achieved within the French capital, Evans has used it as motivation.
“I unquestionably have a look at it as an fulfillment however I feel each and every swimmer has this type of vital mindset and also you’re at all times going to be like – what if I did this in a different way? What if I did that?
“However that very same mindset is what’s preserving me hungry now, I need extra, I need global medals, I wish to no longer come 6th within the ultimate.
“I appreciate it and one quote that I stand by is ‘Stay proud but never satisfied’ and that is how I look at that swim at the Olympics.”
Silverware & Data In Budapest
Evans travelled to Budapest for the short-course worlds in December the place she quickly tore into the British document books as soon as once more.
First up on the Duna Area used to be the 100m breaststroke the place she headed the prelims in 1:03.45 to chop nearly a 2d from Renshaw’s nationwide mark of one:04.37 from December 2021.
Evans went on to complete 7th within the ultimate (1:04.08) in addition to 8th over 200 (2:18.77) and twelfth within the 50 (29.95).
l-r: Abbie Wooden, Angharad Evans, Eva Okaro & Freya Anderson: Picture Courtesy: Aquatics GB
She joined forces with Abbie Wooden, Eva Okaro and Freya Anderson for the ladies’s medley relay because the quartet went 3:50.20 for a countrywide document and fourth position in prelims.
Come the general and the quartet have been led off by way of double IM bronze medallist Wooden in 57.44 with Evans splitting 1:03.18 handy over in 3rd to Eva Okaro, who’d set a global junior 50 loose document of 23.66 lower than 90 mins previous.
Okaro cut up 56.11 sooner than a thundering 51.11 anchor leg by way of Anderson propelled the Nice Britain workforce previous China and into silver medal place in 3:47.84 for some other nationwide document as the United States set a WR of three:40.41 for gold.
“It was such a special moment,” mentioned Evans. “Us 4 ladies have very other backgrounds. We have now Eva – the sector junior document holder from previous that night time – we’ve got Abbie, a double Olympian.
“There used to be simply this type of mix of skill and we weren’t going into it with any expectancies.
“Abbie isn’t a backstroker, Eva doesn’t normally swim the 100 fly so we have been like let’s simply have a laugh with it and spot the place it will get us.
“We performed the best that we possibly could: no-one was going to beat America and that was facts on paper. So, in our eyes we won!”
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Publish date : 2025-02-25 05:44:52
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