MacKay-Champion Fights For Bronze in Edinburgh
As the rest of the counrty battled to prevent Storm Emma choking Britian to a standstill, the nations finest swimmers gathered for the 2018 British Swimming Championships. The warm Scottish crowd welcomed the championships for the first time since the olympic trials in Glasgow, eger to support local superstars such as comonwealth champion Ross Murdoch and world champions Duncan Scott and Stephen Milne. However, admist the fire of competition, a new star was born.
Oxford University’s Tobermory MacKay-Champion, fresh from winning the best performance award at the 2018 Varsity Swimming Championships, arived home in preperation for his signature event – the 200m breastroke. A test of both speed and endurance, this taxing race has been won by legends like David Wilke, Micheal Jamieson and more reacently Adam Peaty. However, the clear favorite going into Fridays race was Ross Murdoch, the British record holder.
In the morning heats, a sluggish Murdoch presented an opportunity for his competitors to seize pole position from his grasp. The Scotsman’s signature final 100m failled to fire as he cruised to a comfotable 2.15.62, some eight seconds adrift from his national record. In the absance of his historic rival, in the recently retired Andrew Willis, the mantle fell to MacKay-Champion to refute the favorite. The fomer Perth City Swim Club athelte powered down the first 100m and fervently held off the field to finish a full second and a half ahead of the defending champion, securing lane four for the evening final.
As the sun fell on Aurthr’s Seat, each race raised Edinburgh to an atmospheric climax. The pool that hosted the commonweatlh games in 1970 and 1986 shook as the atheletes swaggered onto poolside, the loadest cheer reverberating for the local hero Murdoch. However, the best starts came from the taller and more powerful atheltes in MacKay-Champion and Wilby. Murdoch still trailed by more than a second as Wilby led the swimmers into the second 100m. As Murdoch began to eat into Wilby’s lead in the second 100m, MacKay-Champion began to tire, falling off of the blistering final 50m pace of the loughbough swimmer and being overtaken by the pre-race favorite. The final meters of the race only cemented the swimmers positions and MacKay-Champion touched for an impressive bronze medal.
This marks the Oxford swimmers first senoir medal at a Brtitish Championships. Indicating promising prospects for the Scotsman. Finishing on the podium at the national championships is frequently a necessary condition for selection for major events such as the Olympic Games and his performances in Edinburgh highlight his successful transition from a promising young swimmer to an accomplished athlete.
Written by Jacob Marchbank
