Angharad Evans has been named Aquatics GB Swimmer of the Year at the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in Glasgow, capping a hugely successful year for the University of Stirling breaststroke specialist.
Evans received the senior swimming accolade at Saturday night’s ceremony, having enjoyed a season that has seen her establish herself among the leading breaststroke swimmers in the world; she currently heads the world rankings having posted the top 4 times of 2026 in the 100m breaststroke and sits second in the 200m event, to go with her astonishing relay split of 1:03.75 at the European Championships.
In medal terms, the 23-year-old’s success was built on a series of standout performances at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and European Aquatics Championships in Paris, where she enjoyed success both individually and as part of the British and Scottish relay teams.
At the Commonwealth Games, Evans claimed a memorable breaststroke double, winning gold in both the 100m and 200m events in front of a home crowd. She was also part of Scotland’s silver medal in the women’s 4x100m medley relay and bronze in the mixed medley relay.
She carried that form into the European Championships, where she once again stood on the top step of the podium in the 100m breaststroke, while also taking silver in the 200m and making a crucial contribution to Britain’s women’s 4x100m medley relay gold.
Against that backdrop there was little surprise in the judges’ decision as Evans got the nod ahead of Filip Nowacki, another Commonwealth and European Champion, Keanna MacInnes and Katie Shanahan.
Nowacki’s coach, Kieron Piper and the team at Millfield did though take the Coach of the Year plaudits, ahead of the coaching teams from Loughborough and Stirling performance centres.
Smith recognised after a breakthrough season
Amalie Smith was named Emerging Swimmer of the Year, recognising a breakthrough period for the young British talent, who has already made a considerable impression at both junior and senior international level.
Smith first announced herself on the international stage in 2025, winning two gold medals at the European Junior Championships in the 200m and 400m individual medley before adding silver medals in both events at the World Aquatics Junior Championships in Romania.
The 17-year-old continued that progress in 2026, making her senior international debut at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, taking silver in the 400m individual medley before following it up with bronze in the 200m. She then added the silver in the longer medley in Paris.
That was enough for the RTW Monson swimmer to top the judges’ picks ahead of Theodora Taylor and Gabriel Shepherd.
While Evans was the top swimmer, the overall Athlete of the Year went to artistic swimming’s Ranjuo Tomblin who was rewarded for an incredible year that saw him with four gold medals at the European Championships.
Banner Image: Istvan Derencsenyi/European Aquatics