Multiple British swimming champion Kara Hanlon has been making waves in the pool for over a decade. A Scottish record holder in the 50 and 100-metre breaststroke, she has represented Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at European and world championships.
Born and raised in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Kara’s early years in the sport looked a bit different to those she was competing against on the mainland, spending much of her teenage years training in a 12.5-metre pool and only starting morning training when she was 16.
The early years
“I started going along to my local club with my big sister when I was 7,” she told us.
“At that age, I just did whatever she did, and I quickly discovered my love for racing – and trying to beat her!”
When Kara was 13, she began making the trip across the water regularly for competitions on the mainland.
“I was the only person really going away to compete at that time, so it was usually just me and my dad.
“Looking back, we were a bit clueless. People would come up to my dad after a race and tell him I had qualified for another competition and off we’d go again in a few weeks time.
“I think that was a nice way of doing things though because I never felt like I was chasing anything – I was just having fun and doing it because I loved it.”
Though Kara was starting to make a name for herself in the Scottish swimming scene, her training back home was minimal compared to some of her competitors.
“Up until I was about 14, I was only really swimming once or twice a week and because my local pool in Stornoway only opened at 8, I wasn’t able to train before school which is pretty unusual,” she explained.
Passion-led coaching
Around that time, Kara was invited to join a group of swimmers who trained in a 12.5-metre pool in Ness – a 40-minute drive from her home.
“My dad would drive me there and back 4 times a week until I could drive myself. That was a huge sacrifice which I am so grateful for,” she expressed.
In Ness, local school janitor Donald Roddy Morrison or ‘DR Morrion’ as Kara and her group referred to him, shared his passion for swimming through coaching a local squad.
“His coaching was entirely voluntary, and he would have never accepted any money. He just did it because he loved the sport and loved seeing us improve.”
Reflecting on those sessions, Kara explained that the size of the pool meant that the training was often very unique.
“We would do things like swim off bungee cords and sprint race in different strokes according to what level we were at.
“We didn’t do metres and metres like in traditional training sessions which I think, to be honest, kept me really interested in the sport and genuinely excited to train.”
Realising her potential
At 16, Kara was invited onto the sportscotland institute of sport Performance Development Programme. After a look into her current training plan, a collaborative effort was made with the local council to get the local pool open before school twice a week.
Kara was now being recognised nationally for her talent in the pool and during the 2014 Commonwealth Games was taken away to Ireland with a Scotland youth talent squad.
“At that competition, I was only 17 and ended up swimming a Commonwealth Games qualifying time,” she told us.
“I think it was at that point that I really started to recognise that I could take this somewhere.”
A year later she was off to the University of Edinburgh, throwing herself into training with the university’s swimming squad.
“I plateaued for the first few years of University just because I was doing far too much and didn’t have a real focus.
“Then we had a coach from Australia, Shannon Rollason, come over for a year and he really turned things around for me. He made my training a lot more specific to me and I started PBing again.”
After that period, Kara joined her coach Mathew Trodden whom she has been with ever since.
“It was always a huge goal of mine to get to the Commonwealth Games and with the help of Shannon and Matthew I really believed that I could get there.
After missing out on the 2018 games by 0.04 of a second, Kara expressed that the 2022 games felt like a redemption.
“I did feel like a mixed bag of emotions; completely surreal but also a long time coming.”
Qualifying for 2 individual finals and a relay final, Kara cites the feeling of having her name announced and walking out to mass crowds as one of her career highlights.
“I wish I could have bottled that up,” she told us.
The making of an athlete
Another career highlight for Kara was winning her first Island Games gold medal at the 2015 Jersey Games.
“I went to my first Island Games in 2011 when I was just 14 and had zero expectations. I made no finals but honestly had the time of my life.
“2 years later in Bermuda I made 2 finals and came 4th in both.
“Heading to the Jersey for my third games I was so determined to medal and when that moment came it just felt like everything had come together over the years.”
For Kara, the Island Games were a constant in her early swimming career – something to strive towards and an indicator of her progress.
“The Island Games have been so important to my development and swimming career,” she told us.
“Having that opportunity to be part of an international multi-sport event, representing Team Western Isles from such a young age is pretty unique and has been so special for me.”
To the future
Looking ahead, Kara hopes that her schedule will allow her to squeeze in a trip to Orkney for the 2025 Island Games.
“It would be so cool to go, even if it was just for a few days and get one or two races in.
“The World Championships are taking place in Singapore just a few weeks later so that is my main goal and focus, but hopefully I might be able to do both!”
After missing out on the Paris 2024 Olympics by 0.06 of a second, Kara says she has had time to reset and is excited for what’s to come.
“I think I’m at a point in my career where I really have to ask myself why I’m doing it, and the answer is that I still love it and still have so many ambitions.
“At my age, looking ahead another 4 years seems like a lot so I’m just taking it one step at a time.
“And with the announcement of a home Commonwealth Games in 2026, who knows – that might just be my moment.”
