Ahead of the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games kicking off later this week, we caught up with Team GB Swimmers, Katie Shanahan, Lucy Hope and Keanna McInnes to hear a little about how they first got involved in swimming, some of their earliest memories of the sport and what the support they have received over the course of their career has meant to them.
How are you feeling to be selected as part of Team GB?
Katie Shanahan: “I am really excited! It still feels a bit surreal that I’ll be going to an Olympic Games, but I can’t wait to get to Paris and have it all sink in!”
Keanna McInnes: “Yeah, it feels amazing! Its everything I’ve dreamed of as a kid and it’s something I don’t think I would have believed if you’d have told me 5 or 6 years ago, that I would be here.”
What’s your earliest memory of swimming?
Lucy Hope: “I used to swim in the borders, just outside of Jedburgh, which is a relatively small community, with really small pools and clubs. I would say my earliest memory was when I was about 8 or 9 years old, learning to swim with my sister and my family and joining the local club there, with just a 4 lane 25m pool, which is just so completely different to what we swim in now.”
Katie Shanahan: “I’d say my first experience was my mum taking me to the mother and toddler classes, and apparently, I just loved the water and I was used as the example of when they dunked the baby under the water, so I have just loved swimming and the water from a young age! But I would say my earliest memory is watching the 2016 Olympics and the athletes competing and knowing that I wanted to be there one day.”
Keanna McInnes: “So, I started swimming initially because I wanted to do diving, as my older sister was a diver, so you obviously need to be able to swim to be able to do that. My first club growing up was Grove, which was a really small club and then I moved to Hearts, which is where I broke out as a junior. I do remember loving Scottish Schools when I was a kid, but I’m not the best at recalling my childhood memories! However, I remember a little from the 2012 London Olympics, as I went to watch the diving, but my first real Olympic memory was watching the 2016 games and staying up so late to watch the swimming with my friends.”
How important are local clubs and pools for young athletes who want to be where you are now?
Lucy Hope: “Oh, massively important. There wasn’t a massive number of facilities in the borders where I grew up, and I think my closest swimming pool was over 5 miles from my house so had to rely on being driven there. I think for all ages, ranging from kids to adults, swimming is such a good sport for both your mental and physical health.”
Do you have a specific target or goals for Paris?
Lucy Hope: "Last year at Worlds, our 4x100m and 4x200m came 4th twice, so that was a quite devastating for us being so close twice. So, the four of us together, if we lift ourselves together I think it can make a big difference and anything can happen on the day, but we really love to come away with a medal and try to break the British record."
Katie Shanahan: "I wouldn’t say I’ve got a specific target in mind. I’m just going to see how well I can do and make the finals and be as close to the medals as possible. But I think just go and enjoy the experience because you don’t get to experience a first Olympics again!"
Is there a particular athlete that you look up to?
Katie Shanahan: "My whole career I’ve looked up to Hannah Miley. With her being an individual medley swimmer like me, and being one of Scotland best female athletes, I’ve always looked up to her and now I’d like to think shes one of my friends, which is quite crazy to think about. I think 12 year old me would be screaming!"
What has the support that you have received over the years from the sportscotland Institute of Sport meant to you?
Lucy Hope: "I don’t think we’d be here without the support that we get from the sportscotland Institute of Sport. Even all of our staff now, S&C, physios are all institute supported and we wouldn’t be the athletes that we are now without them. Coming up from a small club, having access to all the support from the institute has been invaluable and really thankful to everyone I’ve had the chance to work with."
Katie Shanahan: "It’s meant so much! I’ve been part of the sportscotland Institute of Sport programmes from quite a young age and I think being supported by them, it’s meant that I’ve had access to so many facilities from the pools to the gyms, and without them I wouldn’t have made it onto this team, so big thank you to them!"
What has the support of the National Lottery funding meant to you?
Keanna McInnes: "I think it quite life changing for a lot athletes to be able to be supported by the National Lottery. So many of us couldn’t put this number of hours and dedication into this sport, alongside being a student, so it really is vital to maintaining our careers as athletes."
What would you say to people who want to get into the sport of swimming?
Katie Shanahan: "I’d say mostly to just enjoy it! For those who want to have compete, some people’s careers aren’t that long, others last for years, but I’d say just enjoy every minute you can. I would say genuinely just give it a go because you never know where you could end up!"
Keanna McInnes: "I think the pool is just such a therapeutic place to be, like everyone loves it on holiday, so just get in and give it a go at your local pool."
