A superb 200m freestyle gold for University of Bath-based Freya Anderson on the last night of competition ensured British Swimming finished top of the medal table at the 2023 European Short-Course Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
It was a fifth medal of the week for British Swimming Performance Centre Bath star Anderson, who also anchored the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay quartet to victory in a British and Championship record time.
Team-mate Jacob Peters notched his first individual international medal too, a brilliant 100m butterfly bronze, and there were multiple podium places for University of Bath Swimming Club’s Ben Proud and alumna Anna Hopkin as the British team made history with 23 medals.
Anderson, coached by David McNulty at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, provided the final flourish on Sunday by powering to a commanding victory as she reclaimed the 200m freestyle title she took in Glasgow four years ago.
“I am really happy with that,” she said. “I really had to stick to my guns in that race because everyone has different tactics, but I played to my strengths and it paid off.”
Anderson also produced a trademark storming finish to Friday’s 100m freestyle final to take bronze behind University of Bath Sport & Exercise Science graduate Hopkin, who was narrowly pipped to gold after leading from the front for much of an exciting race.
Hopkin, who had missed out on a 50m freestyle medal by just two-hundredths of a second, and Anderson had started their busy weeks by winning women’s 4x50m freestyle relay bronze with Lucy Hope and Medi Harris.
They repeated that achievement in the 4x50m medley relay, Anderson swimming the freestyle leg in the heats and Hopkin in the final, before combining with Proud and Lewis Burras to win mixed 4x50m freestyle relay gold in emphatic style.
That was a third 50m freestyle gold of the week for Proud, who clocked the second-fastest time ever of 20.18 in the men’s final and helped GB secure the men’s relay title with a new British record.
Performance Centre Bath swimmer Peters went under 50 seconds for the first time to place a fantastic third in the 100m butterfly.
“I’m happy, it’s a medal and a PB,” said Peters, who also set a new British record of 22.10 as he narrowly missed out on a 50m butterfly medal. “I still think there is more in me but it’s my first-ever individual international medal so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. It gives me a lot of confidence going into the Olympic year.”
Peters also teamed up with Oliver Morgan, Archie Goodburn and Matt Richards to win silver in the men’s 4x50m medley relay, with fellow Bath swimmers Jono Adam and Ed Mildred also receiving medals following their important efforts in the preliminary rounds.
Mildred was seventh in the men’s 200m butterfly final, University of Bath Mechanical Engineering student Cameron Brooker – supported by an Ivor Powell Sports Scholarship – posted a new personal best to finish sixth in the 200m backstroke, and Jacob Whittle was eighth in the 100m freestyle.
The London 2012 Legacy Pool at the University of Bath, the training base for the British Swimming Performance Centre Bath squad, is open to the public too. Visit teambath.com/swimming to see the swimfit timetable.
Lead photo shows: Attached: (Left) Anna Hopkin, Freya Anderson and (right) Ben Proud – pictured with Lewis Burras after winning mixed 4x50m freestyle relay gold – enjoyed multiple podium finishes at the 2023 European Short Course Swimming Championships.
With thanks to Team Bath
