The teenagers train together at Stockport Metro Swimming Club, but it will be the first time they have raced each other in competition, presenting some unusual problems for their family.
“I think our grandparents were talking about wearing a T-shirt with the Scottish flag on the front and the English flag on the back or something,” says Astrid.
Ursula smirks as she replies: “Why is the English on the back?”
Astrid normally competes in the S12 category, which is lower on the scale for visually impaired swimmers, while Ursula is in the S13 category.
But under Commonwealth rules all visually impaired athletes swim together in one category, setting up a debut competitive meet between them.
They will compete in freestyle races, rather than the breaststroke or backstroke events that Astrid won medals in at last year’s Para-swimming World Championships in Singapore.
“Sadly, Ursula is better at front crawl, so I might have to settle,” admits Astrid.
Ursula laughs as she responds: “This is news to me!”
