Quotes From 2021 British Swimming Invite

2021 BRITISH SWIMMING INVITATION MEET

• Friday, March 12th – Sunday, March 14th
• Manchester Aquatic Center
• LCM (50m)
• Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap
• Live Results
• Live Stream

Multiple national records went down and world-ranking performances were logged over the course of the just-concluded 3-day British Swimming Invitational in Manchester. You can read up on the daily recaps using the links above, but also catch-up on insights from the swimmers themselves via quotes provided by British Swimming below.

Luke Greenbank – National Record in 200m Backstroke (1:55.34)

• “I’m over the moon with that! I came into this meet wanting to build on the last one and to do that in the heats gave me great confidence for the final tonight. I’ve had my eyes on this one for a while, but I didn’t think I’d break it in-season, I thought it’d be at trials where I could have a go at it. It feels absolutely amazing, and obviously it was James Goddard’s record before this and as a kid I watched him swim at an international level, so was he kind of an idol of mine, so to get that record is amazing.”

Adam Peaty – Super Solid 58.52 100m Breaststroke Win

• “I think off the last month I executed the race plan really well, but it was a hard race in terms of getting up for it. I think the biggest challenge now as athletes is getting yourself into that zone where you can perform when there’s an empty crowd and you can’t feel the awe around the place. I did what I could; you know it’s still extremely fast – that would probably medal at worlds – so I’m in a very good place.”

James Wilby – Runner-up with 59.31 100m Breaststroke

• “The last 12 months have been a challenge for everyone, and personally I’ve found it challenging to get back into competition. It’s taken me a little while to find my groove but I’m happy to back where I was, give or take, this time last year. The main thing is that I feel good going into trials, because I know when we enter a tapered competition phase there’s that natural drop down and so I’m looking forward to it. It’s really challenging for everyone, and we’ve been really fortunate in that we’ve been able to be in the water pretty consistently. I really do sympathise with the people who aren’t able to train and I hope the light at the end of the tunnel remains there – we can see it and let’s just hope that timeline remains in place.”

Duncan Scott – 1:59.36 200m IM/49.09 100m Free Double Gold on Night 2

• “It was good. I train to do doubles like that and it was good I was able to execute the races the way that I wanted to. They were hard races and there are some boys in there who are really quick and it was good to go against some of those 200 IM boys.
• It’s a year since I raced the Edinburgh International so it was good to get back out there with some long course racing and I really enjoyed it, especially the 100 Free. It was really tight and it was good to see a couple of the boys with PBs in there, which is really good for British Swimming and with the trials coming up.”

Duncan Scott – 1:46.70 Win by .05 Over Tom Dean

• “200 Free in Britain is always good fun! I’ve been doing some race simulations at home, but to come here and race some other guys has been really good. It was just so tight and that’s what’s so good about it – head to head racing gets a bit more out of you – it’s really good looking ahead to trials and the 4×200 relay.

Tom Dean – 1:46.75 Silver in 200m Free

• “I just wanted to come here and move it on from the Manchester International – that was the main aim. I had a bit of a shaky start to the three days in that 400, feeling a bit tired from training, but to finish off with that is good. GB 200 free is just a stacked event and it’s always going to be an exciting race when you’ve got eight top guys going head to head – that only bodes well for trials in a months’ time.”

Kathleen Dawson – First Scottish Woman Under 59-Seconds in 100 Back (58.65)

• “I’m over the moon with that! I mean I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I kind of expected to go a 58 because I’ve been swimming so well at these time trials we’ve been doing in Stirling, so it was expected, but I’m still buzzing with it. This morning I had kind of relaxed the first fifty so I knew I had more to give in the first fifty tonight, and then I just wanted to repeat the second fifty like I did this morning so it all just came together.”

Cassie Wild – 59.56 100m Back for First Result Under 1:00

• “We’ve been training so well together and I’m really proud of her [Dawson] – we’ve both been swimming class and looking at that opportunity to make the Olympics.”