Mansfield swimmer Renshaw rockets her way to European silver

Molly Renshaw, of Mansfield, who has now won eight medals at major swimming championships.

The 23-year-old ace bagged a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke on the final day of the European Short-Course Championships at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow.

In an impressive display, Renshaw blazed a trail in front and even led by more than half a second going into the last 50m when it looked as if she might return home with a magnificent gold medal.

But she was overhauled close home by Russia’s Maria Temnikova and had to dig deep to hold off a challenge by Italy’s Martina Carraro to take second place. She finished only 1.31 seconds behind Temnikova, clocking a time of two minutes, 19.66 seconds.

“It’s amazing!” Renshaw beamed. “I went for it, all out, and I think I suffered for it in the last 50m, but it gave me things to work on for the Olympic Games next year.

“My aim for this season was to try and improve the first 150m of my race, so it was great to be able to work on that at a short-course meet.

“I need to be braver, and I think swimming like that will build my confidence.”

Renshaw, who is based at the National Centre in Loughborough, had qualified for the final with the fifth fastest time, but really threw down the gauntlet when it mattered.

It was the eighth medal she has won at a top championships during her glittering career.

She landed gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 2016 World Short-Course Championships and, in the same year, she was a golden girl in the 4X100m medley relay at the European Short-Course Championships in London.

Renshaw has also won a silver and bronze at other European Short-Course Championships, plus two silvers and a bronze a two Commonwealth Games.

She also set a new British record in the 200m breaststroke final at the 2016 Olympics.

This time round, her efforts, and those of teammate James Guy, who won a bronze medal with a lifetime-best performance in the 200m butterfly final, helped Great Britain to fifth in the medals’ table. They won a total of 11 medals, which comprised three golds, four silvers and four bronzes.