Katie Shanahan is, she firmly believes, due some good luck.
Given the amount of bad luck Scotland’s highest-profile female swimmer has had come her way over the past year, she’s entirely justified in hoping her fortunes are turning, and there’d be no better time for the 22-year-old than at Glasgow 2026.
Shanahan’s first stroke of misfortune came at last year’s World Championships in Singapore, where the medley and backstroke specialist was hoping to challenge for silverware.
However, a bout of illness saw the University of Stirling swimmer fall well short of her best and even forced her to withdraw from the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke.
Following her return from those World Championships, the misfortune was to continue. Shanahan suffered a back injury which meant that for the first quarter of 2026, her training was severely disrupted resulting in her heading into April’s British Championships underprepared. However, the Glaswegian swam better than expected at the national championships, winning gold in the 200m backstroke and bronze in the 100m backstroke.
This was the first glimmer of light Shanahan had seen in a long time and, since then, things have been looking up for the former European Junior champion, which is why she’s now in an optimistic mood
“I feel like I've had the worst luck ever over the past year but I've come back stronger and more resilient, and I feel like I know a lot more about myself now,” she reflects.
“Because of the back injury, I only had a couple of weeks of training behind me for the British Champs so I had to set my targets and my process goals on something other than purely the result.
Read more: Archie Goodburn on his 'terrifying' seizure and, yet again, defying the odds
Laura Muir: Glasgow 2026 feels like the Olympics to me
“It was hard to watch everyone else go out and swim well, because I wanted to be like that. But I had to sit back and tell myself ‘no, now's not my time. My time will come’.
“So it gave me confidence that I was still able to make the team with so little training behind me. And recently, I've had the first good block of training I've had all year so I'm feeling so much better in the water now, and that's definitely given me a boost.”
Shanahan’s motivation to regain fitness was fuelled, in large part, by her desire to be at her best at Glasgow 2026. Having been born and brought-up in Glasgow, this is very much a home Games for Shanahan and having become Scotland’s highest profile female swimmer in recent years, she will have significant pressure upon her shoulders at Tollcross Swimming Centre. That’s something she’s not only prepared for, though, it’s something she’s embracing and is optimistic the expectation her will drive her to great things.
“It's kind of weird (being the highest-profile female swimmer in the team), I didn't ever think I'd be in this position, to be honest, but I'm very grateful, proud and happy that I am. So I'm looking forward to it," she says.
“I know I've got such a good opportunity this summer, not only to get medals but also to promote myself as a person and as an athlete and being at home, in front of the home crowd, it will be easier to do that.
“Some people might be putting pressure on me to make finals or to get a medal or whatever, but I see that as a good thing and I'm looking forward to having that pressure on my shoulders, because I always perform well when I've got pressure on me.”
Having won two bronze medals on her Commonwealth Games debut at Birmingham 2022, and with her illness and injury challenges now behind her, Shanahan is harbouring ambitions to improve upon her results four years ago. The Scot will be up against some of the world’s very best at Glasgow 2026, including two superstars of the swimming world, Summer McIntosh from Canada and Kaylee McKeown from Australia but the Scot is welcoming the competition and is hopeful that, with the European Championships beginning almost immediately after the conclusion of Glasgow 2026, she will end her summer with several more medals to her name.
“Four years ago, it was very unexpected to win those two bronze medals because I went into that competition just hoping to make some finals and swim PBs,” she says.
“So to come away with two medals was pretty surreal and I'd love to develop on that this year. I know the competition is going to be harder this time and there'll be more girls in contention, but I'm just hoping to do my best.
“Obviously it'll be a home crowd so it'll be really loud and I'm just hoping to enjoy it, hopefully get some PBs and see what I can do medal-wise.
“I'd love to come away this summer having become Commonwealth champion or European champion. I do put a lot of my pressure on myself and I do want to be the best so I want to get those gold medals, but whether that happens or not is out of my control.”
