Katie Shanahan (born 25 June 2004) is a Scottish professional swimmer specialising in backstroke. She is the 2026 European Champion in the 200 metre backstroke, and has represented Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics and Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and 2026.
Career Shanahan competed in the women's 400 metre individual medley event at the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Abu Dhabi.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, held in Birmingham, England, starting in July, Shanahan won the bronze medal in the 400 metre individual medley with a time of 4:39.37."Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 400m Individual Medley Final Results". Longines. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022."Commonwealth Games: Scotland's Katie Shanahan claims 400m medley bronze". BBC Sport. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022. Three days later, she won the bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke with a personal best time of 2:09.22."Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Women's 200m Backstroke Final Results". Longines. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022."Scottish swimmers win three more medals in the pool". Scottish Swimming. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
In 2023, she won two gold medals at the 2023 British Swimming Championships in the 200 metres backstroke and the 200 metres medley. It was the second successive time that she had won the 200 backstroke title.
After finishing second in both the 200 metres backstroke and the 400 metres medley at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, Shanahan recorded times that met the British Consideration criteria for a place at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She was subsequently named in the British team for the Olympics, where she reached the Olympic final, finishing fifth in the women's 200 metre backstroke.
In 2025, Shanahan won both the 100 and 200 metres backstroke titles at the 2025 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, which sealed a qualification place for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. However, her championships were hampered by illness, forcing her to withdraw from the semi-finals of the 200 metre backstroke.
After a season filled with injuries, Shanahan defended her 200 metre backstroke title at the 2026 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships, securing her spot on the team for her home Commonwealth games in Glasgow, where she claimed a Silver medal in the event. She then went on to lower the 200 metre backstroke British record on her way to the title at the 2026 European Aquatics Championships, marking her first senior major championship gold medal.
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