Local international swimmer Camilla Hattersley received a cheque for £450 tonight to assist with her considerable expenses and in recognition of her outstanding achievements.

Local girl Camilla has recently been selected for the GB Swimming Team and will compete in the 800m freestyle and the 4 x 200m relay at the Rio Olympics. Her selection follows a recent string of successes in the pool. In 2015 Camilla broke the the long-standing Scottish 200m record and achieved personal bests (PB) in the 400m and 800m in the European Championships in London. In the recent British Swimming Championships she had a PB, finishing 2nd in the 800m and finished 4th in both the 200m and 400m which resulted in her being selected for the GB Team.

With an eye on the future Camilla is studying Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Glasgow and has a tough balancing act in order to study and train at the same time. Swimming training starts at 5.15 am and again at about 5.30 pm each day, leaving time for study in between.

Camilla is due to travel down to Birmingham on Wednesday to pick up her GB Team clothing and equipment, and on her trip to Rio she expects to be accompanied by fellow Glasgow Uni student and middle-distance runner Laura Muir from Kinross.

We wish Camilla and all her fellow competitors every success.

Camilla is pictured with Ian Baird (left) and Ian Brown (Youth Services Committee).