Toni Shaw began Wednesday by passing her driving test and the happy news kept coming with confirmation of her place at the Tokyo Paralympics.
“Today has been a very good day,” the 17-year-old swimmer from Aberdeen told BBC Scotland. “It’s such a strong British team and it’s an honour to be part of it. It means everything, it’s so special.”
And on that driving test? “I got a bit stuck behind a bus, but it was OK in the end,” she laughed.
Born without her right hand, Shaw won six medals at the 2019 World Para-swimming Championships but she is not setting any targets for Tokyo this summer.
“I just want to go there and swim really fast,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to the 400m freestyle. That will be my first race on the first day. That’s my main event and I’m hoping to get a PB.
“You never know how other people are going to swim and we haven’t had any major competitions for such a long time, so I just want to focus on how I perform.”
Shaw was just 14 when she represented Scotland at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.
“There was a lot attention that I’d never had before and I’ve never really been a fan of it, so I was quite nervous,” she admitted. “But it was a great experience, racing in front of crowds, and that will help this time.”
With six Scots in the GB swimming team, Scott Quin will be competing at his second Paralympic Games, having picked up a 100m breaststroke silver medal in Rio five years ago.
The 30-year-old from Edinburgh said he was “humbled” to be selected for the “pinnacle of our sport”.
“There are a few youngsters ahead of me on the rankings, including the world record holder, so I have to be realistic, but anything can happen on the day,” he said.
Conner Morrison, Stephen Clegg, Louis Lawlor and Andrew Mullen are the other Scottish swimmers going to Tokyo, with the Games running from 24 August to 5 September.
