Angharad Evans thought she was moving to Scotland to bring her swimming career to a premature close. Instead, it would provide the launchpad for a spectacular renaissance.
That great leap forward was meant to take place in the United States when the breaststroke specialist enrolled at the University of Georgia as an 18-year-old of significant promise. Evans, though, would last just 18 months before returning back to the UK, conceding that it ‘definitely wasn’t the place for me’.
Persuaded to have another go a bit closer to home, the Cambridge-born athlete took the plunge and moved north in January 2023, enrolling as a business and management student at the University of Stirling on a sport scholarship and joining Scotland’s National Swimming Academy in the process.
Her confidence and morale were at their lowest ebb but Stirling nurtured her at her nadir and soon reaped the benefits. Trained by Ben Higson and Brad Hay as part of a squad rammed with talent, Evans grew into the star her potential had always hinted at. Within 18 months — that timeframe again — she was competing at her first Olympics in Paris as the new British champion and record holder.
Evans remains forever in Stirling’s debt for everything they have done for her. And it is why over the coming fortnight she will enter the pool at Tollcross in Glasgow to compete in the Commonwealth Games with a Team Scotland cap on, rather than embracing her English or Welsh heritage.
‘I moved to Stirling just to start enjoying swimming again,’ she reveals. ‘I was at the end of my career and just wanted to enjoy my last few months swimming. And instead it ended up being the start of my journey.
Angharad Evans will proudly represent Scotland despite her English and Welsh roots
‘I’m a completely different athlete now to when I first joined. I remember being sat in a meeting and my coach, Brad Hay, asked me what my ultimate goals were. And I said two things: to enjoy the sport again, because I really, really wasn’t when I moved back from the States. And I needed to be in a senior team at some point in my life. And now I’ve done both those things and more.
‘I went from watching people on the TV to being in the call room with those same people that I looked up to very, very quickly. I didn’t have the experience everyone else has and they [the coaches] supported me through the journey.
‘They’ve shown me that goals should never end. As soon as you achieve one goal, there’s the next one lined up waiting for you. And they’ve really helped me with my mindset too.
‘If it wasn’t for the staff and the team at Stirling, I wouldn’t be on this [Scotland] team. And it just wouldn’t feel right to then compete for England and not have the coaches with me that got me to where I was and the teammates that I train with every single day.
‘So, representing Scotland was sort of a no-brainer for me. What they’ve done for me as an athlete is really special. I’m excited to step up and represent them. I’m representing myself but also a team that stands behind me in Stirling and supports me every single day. And that means a lot.’
The chance to compete at a home Commonwealth Games is relatively rare, which is also part of the attraction for Evans who is keen to experience the noise and clamour of a Scottish crowd in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
‘I think there’s just this buzz on the team knowing that it is a home Games,’ she reveals. ‘People have shared stories of Glasgow 2014 and just how amazing the crowd were there. So I think that adds to the excitement.
Evans and the rest of the Stirling University swimmers are waved off from Bridge of Allan
‘And we want to make our country proud and bring back some medals. People might not be swimming fans up in the crowd but they’re Scotland fans. And if they see that Scottish flag on your hat, they’ll stand up and support you. And I think that’s a special thing.’
Evans is an accomplished international competitor now. She competed in her first senior world championships last year and earlier this year lowered both her 100m and 200m British records. With the European championships following on immediately after these Commonwealth Games, how is she treating this one?
‘I’m trying to view it more as a fun one,’ she adds. ‘But that’s not to say it won’t be competitive because every single race is going to be a fight to get to the next round, to the semi-finals and to the finals. I think if I put too much pressure on it, that is when I crack. That’s why this season has been so good because I haven’t really put too much pressure on myself.
‘I’ve just enjoyed every single race. And I think I’d be a fool to not stand in front of a home crowd in my home nation and not just have fun with it.
‘When I’m a happy swimmer, I’m a fast swimmer. I need to just remember that, take a breath before I race and just realise what a great opportunity it is.
‘Everyone wants a gold medal. Everyone wants a personal best time. So, yeah, I think it will be a mixture for sure.’
You don’t spend three-and-a-half years in another country as a student without it infiltrating your personality at least to some extent and Evans confirms she’s been as content outside of the pool as she is in it. The university campus is set in the Stirlingshire countryside just outside the village of Bridge of Allan and she has been quick to embrace the rural lifestyle.
Evans reached the 100 metres breaststroke final on her Olympic debut in Paris in 2024
‘I absolutely love it,’ she says eagerly. ‘I really felt like when I moved up there was no place for me in England. My mum is American actually and she was in love with Scotland. She suggested Stirling to me and at first I was like, “okay, I’ll go view it”.
‘And when I came to campus, I absolutely fell in love with it. Anyone who hasn’t been to Stirling campus, it’s beautiful. And I think that’s something that’s very important to me because yes, I’m an athlete, but I’m also a person outside of the pool and I need to enjoy where I’m living.
‘And Stirling is the perfect place for that, the scenery and on the weekends being able to go on hikes. It’s very peaceful and calming. I love the Scottish accents, the culture and even the weather here, which is very controversial. I actually love the rain! So I’m very, very lucky on that front. I just do think Stirling is the place for me. It just ticks all the boxes in and outside the pool.’
Evans heads into these Games as one of Scotland’s leading medal prospects. So, has she been learning Flower of Scotland just in case she tops the podium? A laugh.
‘I’ve had it on YouTube with the lyrics up so I’m learning it,’ she reveals. ‘It might be my most played Spotify song by the end of the year.’
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