A TEENAGE athlete from St Helens has made her mark at the very first European Championships in Glasgow.

Sixteen-year-old Millie Costello was part of the Great Britain synchronised swimming crew which secured a top 10 placing in the inaugural multi-sport event that brings together some of the continent’s leading sports.

Millie, who is currently waiting for her GCSE results, was one of eight teenage swimmers whose Celtic-themed team technical routine saw them gain ninth place after scoring 78.0072 in the competitive field.

Millie’s proud mum, Helen, said: “This is a major achievement for the youngest team at the games competing with countries from across Europe, many of whom are full-time athletes in their twenties. The team performed brilliantly improving on scores with each swim.”

Millie has been a part of the England talent synchronised swimming programme since she was 10, gaining a place on the Great Britain Squad when she was 14. The squad is made up of part-time athletes who train in Bristol and Aldershot at weekends and school holidays. Millie is also a member of the City of Leeds Synchronised Swimming Club, travelling to Leeds from St Helens four times a week.

Helen added: “This makes her achievement of studying for GCSEs even more impressive factoring in travel and training times. Millie actually sat one of her GCSEs a year early last year while competing in Croatia and got a gold medal the next day!”

Karen Thorpe, Swim England Synchronised Swimming manager, said: “The team had a good swim. They gave it their all. The new senior elements are very difficult, and we have put more time into the junior elements this season, for the Junior Europeans and Junior Worlds last month.

“Having said that, it was really our first senior competition at this level since 2016 so we are very pleased with the result and ranking.”

By Gemma Sproston