Sport / Olympic swimmer dives in for Lerwick visit
AN OLYMPIC swimmer was in the isles on Thursday to give the next generation of swimming talent tips for succeeding in the pool.
Katie Shanahan, who competed at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris for Great Britain, was in Shetland as a guest of Lerwick Amateur Swimming Club.
The club won the coveted Scottish Swimming Club of the Year award in 2023, with a visit from an Olympian one of the perks of the prize.
Shanahan was given a tour of the isles early in the morning by club chairwoman Inga Geddes, even visiting the Lerwick Up Helly Aa galley shed, before she held a question and answer session in the afternoon.
Members from Shetland swimming clubs Delting Dolphins, South Mainland ASC, Shetland Hurricanes and Westside Sharks were also invited to attend.
The club said Shanahan was grilled on everything from sleep patterns to what her favourite food in the Paris Olympic village had been.
The 20-year-old, from Glasgow, then took part in Lerwick ASC’s swimming session on Thursday night.
She even gave the young swimmers a once in a lifetime opportunity to race against an Olympic swimmer, taking to the pool for her favoured medley event.
Lerwick ASC presented Shanahan with a bracelet from Shetland Jewellery in appreciation of her visit.
The club said she was “a truly down-to-earth, friendly, relatable young woman” and a “real ambassador” for swimming. “We have been absolutely honoured to have her visit us,” it added.
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