Double gold at School Games for Angus pupil

Swimming: Medals for Harris Academy pair

An Angus schoolgirl has picked up two golds at the School Games National Finals at Loughborough University.

Arbroath High School pupil Sophie Smith, who hails from Dundee, helped the Scotland South and East team win the 4x200m freestyle relay, breaking the Scottish record in the process.

She went on to win a sensational 100m freestyle gold, stopping the clock in 57.59.

It was a spectacular meet for the young swimmer as she also picked up a silver and bronze in two other relay races.

“It’s amazing. I came here expecting nothing and was just going to try my best, so I’m really happy. Breaking the Scottish record is a sensational feeling.”

Harris Academy pupil Iona MacLeod put in a great anchor leg swim to help the girls set a new national record.

She said: “I enjoyed every single moment of it. No way did we expect to do as well as we did.”

Meanwhile fellow Harris Academy pupil Jack Milne produced a brilliant solo swim to win gold in the 200m butterfly.

He admitted he enjoyed the whole games experience.

“It’s been fantastic. To see the quality of people doing hockey and other sports is just amazing and it’s great to see how well they’re doing,” he said.

The games are an integrated multisport event for the UK’s most talented school-age athletes, with around 1,600 athletes competing across 12 sports, seven of which included disability disciplines.

Previous competitors include Paralympians Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock, Olympic champion Adam Peaty, and GB sprinters Adam Gemili and Dina Asher-Smith.

The games are the springboard for future athletes with 56 Team GB athletes at the 2016 Olympics having competed at the games.