Stirling’s 28-medal haul at BUCS Long Course Championships

Swimmers from the University of Stirling – Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – are celebrating after a stunning 28-medal haul at a major student meet.

Stirling won nine gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Long Course Championships, finishing second overall just behind Loughborough and further underlining the University’s reputation as Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence.

Angharad Evans, 23, was top female at the meet after winning all three breaststroke events at Ponds Forge in Sheffield, while Stirling stablemates Mikhail Andriushkin and Sam Downie set new BUCS records in the pool.

It comes just weeks after Duncan Scott – Scotland’s most decorated Olympian, who has spent the past decade training at Stirling – and Angharad were announced as the first selections to Scotland’s swim team for this summer’s Commonwealth Games.

The University’s Head Performance Swim Coach Ben Higson has also been selected to take charge of the team at the Games. More athletes from Stirling are expected to be selected for Glasgow 2026 in the coming weeks.

Lucy Grieve won three relay golds and two individual silvers at the meet (credit: BUCS/Reece Ashby).

David Bond, Director of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “Congratulations to our swimmers and their coaches on a superb performance at the BUCS Long Course Championships. To return with nine gold medals, and attain a further 19 podium places, is a fantastic achievement for the team – and their efforts were repaid with an overall second-place finish.

“We are proud of the team and wish them well for the exciting summer ahead.”

Evans stole the show in the breaststroke events, winning gold in the 50m, 100m and 200m races, with times of 30.81, 1:06.06 and 2:24.72, respectively. She was also part of the Stirling relay teams that won gold in the Female 400m Medley (with Holly McGill, Lucy Grieve and Evie Davis) and the Mixed 400m Medley (with Grieve, David Annis and Evan Jones).

Stirling finished first in the Female 400m Freestyle, with Davis, Grieve, Melissa Turnbull and Suzie McNair sweeping to victory, and there were also golds for Downie in the Mixed Multi-Classification 100m Backstroke, in which he set a new BUCS record, Andriushkin in the 100m Freestyle, and Bjorn-Sebastian Aaen in the 50m Freestyle.

There were two silver medals each for Davis (50m and 100m Freestyle), Jones (200m Freestyle, 200m Individual Medley), Grieve (50m and 100m Butterfly) and Downie (100m and 400m Freestyle - setting a new BUCS record), and one each for Annis (100m Backstroke), McNair (400m Individual Medley) and George Smith (400m Individual Medley). The Male 400m Medley Team (Annis, Jones, Rafe Dobson and Andrew Bertoli) also won silver.

The seven bronze medals were delivered by Davis (200m Freestyle), McGill (200m Backstroke), McNair (200m Individual Medley), Dobson (50m Breaststroke), Jones (200m Backstroke), Aaen (100m Freestyle) and the Men’s 400m Freestyle Team (Jones, Smith, Arun Oelkers and Josh Denholm).

Stirling swimmers (L-R) Evan Jones, Lucy Grieve, Angharad Evans and David Annis won gold in the Mixed 400m Medley (credit: BUCS/Morgan Harlow).

Andriushkin set two new BUCS records in the S15 classification, with a time of 58.10 in the Freestyle 100m and 17:43.98 in the Freestyle 1,500m. Downie also set new BUCS records in the S8 classification, with a time of 1:10.49 in the 100m Backstroke and 4:50.10 in the 400m Freestyle.

University of Stirling finished the competition with 749 points – behind Loughborough (792 points) and ahead of Bath (699 points).

At Stirling, athletes have access to world-class facilities, including a 50-metre pool, unrivalled outdoor space, and state-of-the-art strength and conditioning suites. In addition to its coaching and facilities, Stirling’s International Sports Scholarship Programme – one of the largest high-performance programmes in the UK – offers athletes funding support, academic flexibility, equipment and kit. It has supported hundreds of athletes since its inception in 1981 – with many competing on the world stage, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Core sports include swimming, football, triathlon, golf, tennis, rugby and curling, while individual scholarships cover all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

Read more about sports scholarships at the University of Stirling.