Dawson kicking off fight for Olympics

Fife swim star Kathleen Dawson insists she is pain-free and aching to make the Paris Olympics after two years of hurt left the Tokyo gold medallist on the brink.

The 26-year-old opens up her quest today at the British trials in London, competing in the

100 metres backstroke, ready to scrap for her spot at the Games.

The European record holder is third-ranked behind Medi Harris and Lauren Cox, but already a winner for fighting through a crippling back injury.

The comeback trail took her to sixth at February’s World Championships and Dawson admits she’s had to keep the faith on the days where it kept going wrong.

She said: “There’s a big chunk of it that has been a mental battle. Then, obviously, it’s your body that is physically having to come back from where it’s been.

“But I wouldn’t have been able to get back to where I am without believing I can do it, or believing I’m going to make the next Olympics.

“So there’s always got to be that goal – to not believe that you can’t do that. And if your body’s going to co-operate, you have to believe.”

Dawson’s world final time was still more than two seconds shy of the European mark she set in 2021 when also landing the European title and coming sixth in the individual final before a mixed relay gold.

However, simply making another global final in Doha was a massive reward for pushing herself through daily rehab at her base at Stirling University. She said: “It was definitely nice to be back at that level of competition, because I’ve not been swimming at that level since the Olympics.”