Boyle has solid hit-out towards Glasgow at Mare Nostrum

Lauren Boyle had a solid first competitive hit-out towards the Commonwealth Games at the Mare Nostrum series opener in Monaco at the weekend.

After a heavy stint of training mileage at altitude in Font Remou and Barcelona, Boyle was a finalist in both the 200m and 400m freestyle.

She finished seventh in the 200m freestyle in 2:01.02 and was fifth in the 400m freestyle in 4:11.18. Both finals were won by short course specialist Katinka Hosszu (HUN).

The series is a mix of swimmers tuning specifically for the three-stop series and others aiming for the European Championships, Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships.

Boyle said it was a useful first hit out but she still has plenty of hard work ahead of her when she heads up for more altitude training at Sierra Nevada in Spain, to be joined by most of the Glasgow-bound New Zealand team this week.