Chorley swimmer Anna Hopkins takes positives from relay performance at European Championships

Anna Hopkin may have missed out on a European Swimming Championship medal by the narrowest of margins but that didn't stop the youngster savouring the electric atmosphere in Glasgow.
Anna HopkinsAnna Hopkins
Anna Hopkins

The Chorley swimmer was part of the of the 4x100m freestyle relay team edged out of third place by just 0.23 seconds at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

The 22-year-old produced a second leg of 54.55 seconds to help Britain cruise through to the final before swimming a 54.94 opening leg in the showpiece event.

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Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Eleanor Faulkner helped keep the team in contention before Freya Anderson’s fine final leg wasn’t quite enough to hunt down Denmark.

Nevertheless, Hopkin lapped up every moment of her experience at a major competition and heaped praise on her teammates and the support they gave.

She said: “I think it was a really good race. We were going in the seventh lane so I guess coming out fourth isn’t too bad.

“It’s hard work when you’ve just swam and your legs are absolutely knackered but we just want to get up and cheer the rest on. It was so close but we did really well.

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“It was so loud. I’ve never experienced a final session like that with the lights and the fire and the noise. It was amazing.”

Great Britain stepped up for the final, shaving their time down from 3:40.18 to 3:37.26 at Tollcross.

And Hopkin, who won a 4x100m relay bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, will take plenty of positives from the competition.

She said: “I think the performance definitely improved. You’ve got to step up for the final but the atmosphere was amazing from this morning right the way throughout the day, it’s been really good.

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“It’s really good that it’s in the UK and I think a lot of people from across the country have come and supported us so that’s great.

“We’ve got lots of family here and it’s nice to have them here and they’re able to watch us swim. They’ve been able to come in and watch us which is fantastic.”

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