University of Stirling student Ross Murdoch highlighted his rising stock at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona yesterday.
Sport & Exercise Science student Murdoch, one of three Stirling scholarship swimmers competing for the 27-strong British Gas GBR Swimming Team in Spain, reached the semi-final of the 100m Breaststroke.
The 19-year-old British Champion and Scottish record holder was ninth fastest from the morning preliminaries, but narrowly missed out on a place in the final, finishing in 11th, 0.15 seconds outside the qualifying positions.
Murdoch, a double European Junior silver medallist, can take heart from a solid showing which saw him finish as the leading Brit ahead of fellow Scot Michael Jamieson, the Olympic 200m breaststroke silver medallist.
Murdoch, from Balfron, trains on campus at the British Gas Intensive Training Centre: Stirling and is joined in Spain by his Stirling team-mates Josh Walsh and Commonwealth Relay Silver medallist Jak Scott. The duo will join forces on Friday (2 August) for the 4x200 metre freestyle relay.
While Scott and Walsh are still to make a splash, three Stirling swimmers can enjoy a well-earned rest. Danielle Huskisson, from South Shields, came a creditable 33rd in the 10k open water event at the World Championships, in only her third ever swim over this distance.
And Scott’s Commonwealth relay team-mate Lewis Smith returned from the World University Games in Russia with a Bronze medal from the 400m Individual Medley. British Universities backstroke triple gold medallist Ryan Bennett continued his run of form with solid displays in four events, including a tenth place finish in the 100m Backstroke.
British Gas ITC Stirling Coach Rob Greenwood heaped praise on the ITC Stirling contingent, who all receive support from national scholarship programme Winning Students.
He said: “Having four swimmers from the University of Stirling competing at the World Championships is a fantastic reflection of the University’s commitment to sporting success alongside first class studies.
“It is great to see the programme going from strength to strength and with the continued support of the University, Scottish Swimming, sportscotland and British Swimming, I think it will only be a matter of time before we have more athletes on the team as well as the all-important hardware, medals.”