2026 BUCS LC Championships: Colbert Reigns With 200 Free & 200 IM Victories

2026 BUCS LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 13th – Sunday, February 15th
• Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield, England
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Draft Entries
• SwimSwam Preview
• Live Results

The 2026 British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Long Course Championships kicked off last night from the storied Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, England, with a host of domestic talent taking to the long course pool.

As a refresher, in each event, only the fastest individual from each institution will score points. Individual events will be scored with 1st place receiving 20 points, 2nd place 19 points, and subsequent placings decreasing by 1 point each, in the order of 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, etc., down to 1 point.

While not a selection meet, this competition serves as an important benchmark ahead of the all-important Aquatics GB Championships on the calendar for April 14th-19th. That meet represents the sole qualification opportunity for swimmers for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Right off the bat, 2024 world champion Freya Colbert made her presence known, reaping gold in the women’s 200m freestyle event.

The 22-year-old Loughborough ace turned in a time of 1:57.08 to easily defeat the field.

The next-closest competitor was represented by Manchester’s Leah Schlosshan who clocked 1:58.65 followed by Stirling’s Eva Davis who hit 2:02.15.

As for Colbert, her 200m free lifetime best remains 1:55.06, put on the books en route to claiming 4th place at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore. That rendered her GBR’s national record holder and the 25th-best performer in history worldwide.

23-year-old dynamo Angharad Evans proved too quick to catch in the women’s 50m breast contest.

The University of Stirling standout hit a time of 30.81, eking out the gold ahead of Napier’s Anna Morgan who settled for runner-up status in 30.90. Loughborough’s Sienna Robinson was relegated to fourth in 31.84.

Evans’ result was within striking distance of her best-ever, a mark of 30.55 from last year’s AP Race International. Morgan’s time checked in as a lifetime best, overtaking her previous PB of 30.96 from nearly a year ago.

Additional Notes

• Loughborough’s Tyler Melbourne-Smith delivered an in-season result of 1:48.16 to take the men’s 200m free. Stirling’s 22-year-old Evan Jones joined him under the 1:49 barrier in 1:48.60 as Jordan Cooley of Loughborough rounded out the podium in 1:50.71. Melbourne-Smith has been on the move already this season, ripping a lifetime best of 3:36.09 in the SCM 400 free from last December to represent GBR’s #2 performer of all time.
• 25-year-old Archie Goodburn continues to inspire, posting a mark of 27.12 to take the men’s 50m breast.
• Colbert also topped the 200m IM podium, rocking 2:11.10 to earn the #2 time of her career. Only her performance of 2:10.46 from the 2024 Aquatics GB Championships has been faster.
• Manchester’s Ed Mildred got on the board with gold in the men’s 100m fly, with the 23-year-old delivering a result of 52.13. Brodie Gordon-Gibson was next to the wall in 53.58 and Matthew Ward rounded out the podium in 54.22.
• 31-year-old Olympic veteran Max Litchfield posted a winning effort of 2:00.84 in the men’s 200m IM, reaping gold ahead of Stirling’s Evan Jones and Imperial’s Edward Whittles. The former snagged silver in 2:01.80, exactly a second ahead of the 2:02.880 Whittles put up for the bronze medal.