Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Keanna MacInnes had aspirations of bronze
ByRichard WintonBBC Sport Scotland at Tollcross International Swimming Centre- Published27 July 2026, 22:31 BST
Keanna MacInnes feared nerves were going to wreck her chances of a Commonweath Games medal.
The Scottish swimmer qualified third fastest for the 100m butterfly final at Tollcross.
But as Monday afternoon stretched on and a long day slipped into evening, the 24-year-old was working herself into a knot of tension.
It took some counsel from coach Bradley Hay to right her before she stepped out in front of a rambunctious Glasgow crowd, and those words of guidance paid off as she roared down the final few metres to claim a silver medal.
She sliced 0.35 seconds off her semi-final time from Sunday evening, despite all the worries about how she might perform, clocking 57.33secs.
"I thought it would be nice to have the rest between the semi and final, but I've been really nervous all day," MacInnes told BBC Sport Scotland.
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"I was really struggling to get food down, and was stressing about things like getting a medley relay slot instead of thinking about getting a medal tonight.
"My coach said to me I had nothing to lose but to just relax and enjoy it."
Alongside fellow Scots Ciara Schlosshan and Lucy Grieve - who finished fifth and sixth respectively - MacInnes did just that.
Third at the turn, she overhauled South Africa's Erin Gallagher as the noise grew louder to earn a spot on the second step of the podium. Australia's Alex Perkins took gold.
"Oh, God, I'm just starting to get my breath back," MacInnes said. "That was so incredible.
"I'm so grateful to the crowd for making it such a special memory for me. I'm so grateful to my parents and boyfriend who are up in the crowd and I'm so glad I was able to do it in front of them.
"A silver is crazy to me. Maybe I was thinking 'bronze could be really cool' so this is just so amazing."
Duncan Scott knows all about Games medals, given he has 14 of them in the house.
Gold in Friday's 200m individual medley was a fine start to proceedings, but a couple of relay near-misses over the weekend were followed by another fourth place in the 200m butterfly on Monday.
