Evans and Anderson secure finals passage

The second day of the World Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest saw Angharad Evans open her racing account at the meet by shaving nearly a second off the former Women’s 100m Breaststroke British record mark - qualifying as the fastest seed out of the heats in 1:03.35.

The semi-final naturally provided a more demanding head to head racing affair, however the University of Stirling swimmer earnt herself a good lane draw for the medal contest with a strong closing length into the touchpad - stopping the clock ranked fourth overall at this stage.

“I’m buzzing! I got the job done in the morning to qualify for the semi and then likewise again here tonight. In my mind I know the race isn’t over yet though, so I’m just doing everything I can to prepare for tomorrow.” Said Evans,

“To do the British record on the world stage was special, as it’s here racing alongside the best in the world and that does push you on.”

Freya Anderson looked sharp on her return to the world stage, with a composed morning swim backed up by progressing her time down a further two tenths in the semi-final to qualify in sixth position for a loaded Women’s 100m Freestyle showcase.

Building out of each turn, the Bath Performance Centre athlete moved her way through the field to edge out her competitors as just one of two athletes from her semi-final to book a spot among the qualifiers.

“I’ll take that, it’s really good to get to the final as it’s a strong crowd of girls entered here so I’m happy to have snuck in.” said Anderson,

“I’ll be looking to push that time down a bit just by following the process. That’s what this meet is all about, testing out what works and we’ll see what we can tweak for tomorrow night.”

Meanwhile alongside her individual swims across Wednesday’s schedule, Evans contributed to Great Britain’s Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay alongside Oliver Morgan, Joshua Gammon and Eva Okaro – with the quartet just falling short of a finals swim after seeding ninth in the heats.

The morning swims also saw Archie Goodburn match his personal best pace on his world championships debut swim as he finished 24th in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke, while Amelie Blocksidge continued her exposure to senior international competition placing 12th in the Women’s 800m Freestyle standings.

Full results from the 2025 World Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships can be found here, with live streaming of the event available across 10th-15th December on the Eurovision Sport platform.