Szarenek goes freestyle in Scottish championship

SWIMMING: Mark Szarenek (Auchmuty High School) won a hat-trick of butterfly titles at this winter’s Scottish Short-course Championships in Inverness, but the 16-year-old has opted to chase a freestyle double at this month’s Brodies Scottish Schools’ Championships in East Kilbride

Szaranek qualified at the Fife Schools’ Championships at Glenrothes in November and he will be favourite to win the 17-19 100 and 200m freestyle at the Dollan Baths on 28 January.

Another leading light in the senior section will be James Young High School’s Craig Benson. Winner of the boys’ award at the West Lothian Schools’ meet, he competed for GB at last month’s European Short-course Championships in Poland.

Coached by his father, John Szaranek, at Carnegie Swimming Club, Mark celebrated New Year in Torremelinos with the Scottish Youth squad. Three of his clubmates also prepared for the Scottish Schools’ event by celebrating the arrival of 2012 in the Spanish sunshine.

Rachael O’Donell, who claimed three silver and three bronze medals at the Scottish Short-course Championships, her Inverkeithing High School team-mate, Chelsea Lawson, and Craig Bowman (Beath High School) will be going for gold at the Schools’ event.

The two 15-year-old girls bid to continue a strong tradition of swimming success for Inverkeithing High School. Lucy Ellis, the 2010 Commonwealth Games swimmer, and Scottish internationalist Eloise Barber also came out of the Fife school.

O’Donnell goes in the 100 and 200m freestyle, while Lawson lines up as favourite in the 100m backstroke and second fastest on paper behind Kirsty Simpson (Bell Baxter) in the 200m event.

Bowman will be aiming to win the 100m butterfly and he should face a close race with Robert Gordon’s Lewis Proctor in the 200m individual medley in the 15-16 age-group.

With Glasgow’s Tollcross Leisure Centre undergoing refurbishment for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Schools’ Championships have been reduced in size this year. There are only eight lanes at the Dollan baths as opposed to the ten at Tollcross.

And severe doubts hang over the annual WISE (Wales v Ireland v Scotland v England) international. Team selections are based on the school results but this year’s event may be scrapped due to lack of funding.