It's not often you get to celebrate winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games on your home turf. But swimmer Katie Shanahan has done just that, and it wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't turned down the chance to appear on "Love Island" this summer.
Glasgow native Shanahan told BBC Scotland that she was given the chance to appear on the popular reality dating show -- which takes place in a villa in sun-soaked Spain -- but turned the opportunity down to focus on her preparations for the Games.
Spending her time practicing has certainly paid off, as she claimed silver in the women's 200m backstroke on last Friday's opening night of the Games in her home city.
It perhaps wasn't an easy choice for the swimmer, though, as she told the BBC she is a "huge fan" of the show.
"I'm the biggest 'Love Island' fan ever; I've watched every season," she said.
"Last year the producers asked me and Abbie Wood [English swimmer] if we would be interested in doing it.
"I couldn't go on, though, because of focusing on the swimming, but who knows in the future? I was a bit tempted but the swimming had to come first."
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Shanahan isn't the only competitor at the 2026 Games to have been offered the chance to enter the Love Island villa.
Northern Ireland boxers Jon McConnell and Kaci Rock made it through to the audition stages of the show but decided to prioritise the Games this summer instead.
"I used to spend a lot of time watching 'Love Island' with the team," McConnell has said.
"It was never really my idea at first, but Kaci mentioned it and said she'd put my name forward as well. I got through a few stages of the process but then I got selected for the Commonwealth Games."
Rock -- daughter of famous Dublin fighter Jim Rock, the only man to hold Irish titles across four weights -- said that she is prioritising her boxing career.
"Me and Jon have been friends for years and I joked about going on it one day," Rock said. "The two of us got to the same point but then we said, oh god, it's too soon. I'd rather make my name in sport than anything else."
Athletes have featured on the show before, including boxer Tommy Fury -- who was a runner-up alongside Molly Mae Hague -- and several lower league and non-league footballers over the years.
Information from PA contributed to this report.
