Ellen Walshe, currently 22 years old, is known for her record-breaking performances in multiple events, including the 200m and 400m Individual Medley, along with the 100m Butterfly. Representing Templeogue Swimming Club, this will be her second Olympic appearance, with the first one being Tokyo 2020. In addition to holding Irish records at both long and short distances, Walshe managed to break Michelle Smith’s long-standing record in the 400m medley race during the Leinster Championships. Although her previous Olympic endeavour had her exiting after the initial heats, she has significantly improved her skills while at the University of Tennessee.
Shane Ryan, another Irish swimmer, stands out for his participation in three Olympic games. Now 30 years old, Ryan will be a significant part of the men’s 400m Medley Relay team at the National Centre, Dublin. He demonstrated remarkable performance in both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics by setting new national records. Despite his commendable efforts to qualify for the 50m freestyle event in Paris, Ryan narrowly missed the opportunity having attained the required time post the official cut-off.
Darragh Greene is another acclaimed athlete who will be joining the 400m Medley Relay team at the age of 28. This Dublin National Centre member will be competing in his second Olympics, following an initial participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Darragh Greene, Ireland’s leading male breaststroker, will be participating in his second Olympic games. He will compete in the medley relay team’s breaststroke leg and holds the Irish record for the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke. His performance at the Tokyo Olympics did not meet the individual qualifying time for Paris, but Greene remains optimistic about future prospects. For the first time, Ireland will be represented by a male medley relay team at the competition. It will substantially challenge the team to reduce the current national record by approximately two seconds, but it’s within reach.
The 24-year-old Max McCusker will participate in the men’s 400m medley relay at the Olympics, marking his first time at the games. He represents Millfield School, England, and will tackle the butterfly leg of the medley. McCusker broke Shane Ryan’s 100m national record this year and has held the 50m record since 2022. Despite being born in England, he competes for the Dolphin Club in Cork, Ireland. He spent the majority of his Olympic training swimming at collegiate level in America. He successfully progressed to the NCAAs in 2021 and 2022 after four years at Florida State. Later, he transferred to Arizona State for his master’s degree, assisting their medley teams in achieving the Sun Devils’ finest NCAAs performance — second in the 200m medley and third in the 400m.
Conor Ferguson will be making his Olympic debut at the age of 24, in the 400m medley relay. Despite narrowly missing out on the Olympics at the age of 16 for the 100m backstroke after falling short by just 0.05 seconds, his performance has steadily improved. He achieved two personal bests this year alone. However, Ferguson still didn’t hit the qualifying time his individual event after its qualifying time was reduced further. This time, he was off the pace by 0.16 seconds.
As a backstroke swimmer in the 400m medley relay team, Ferguson is off to Paris. Although he hasn’t yet beaten the Irish record set by Shane Ryan, he is showing impressive progress and is at the top of his game.
At the age of 23, Victoria Catterson has established herself as one of Ireland’s most trustworthy and consistently performing relay swimmers throughout the Olympic period. She is expected to compete in the 4x100m freestyle relay in Paris and is very likely to be a crucial part of the medley relay team. Her swimming accolades include 10 Irish records, with eight won as part of relay teams. The Belfast native, who previously competed for Northern Ireland at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games two years prior, also is a record-holder for the 200m freestyle for both long and short courses. She also happens to be rugby player James Hume’s first cousin.
In contrast, Grace Davison, 16, will be the youngest participant amongst the total Irish Olympic team, spanning all sports. Even though she doesn’t reach 17 until the end of August, the Ards swimmer has already made considerable strides in her career. Her debut was at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 as a member of the Northern Ireland freestyle relay team. Despite being only 14 then, she competed in five events, barely missing out on a semi-final spot in the 50m backstroke. The previous Irish record holder for the 200m freestyle, she overcame tonsillitis to win gold and silver medals at the youth Commonwealth Games last year. A year ago, the thought of making the Olympics seemed far-fetched to her given her young age. However, she’ll compete in the relay swim and holds much promise for the future.
Erin Riordan, 24, is set to make her debut at the Olympics, representing Ireland in both 400m Freestyle Relay and 400m Medley Relay. She has trained at Dublin’s National Centre and has been a key component of Irish relay teams throughout the Olympic period. Riordan was a member of four teams that broke Irish records, including the 4x100m women’s freestyle relay (long and short course), the 4x100m medley relay, and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. Riordan was born in Hong Kong to Irish parents and has presented Ireland at both World and European Championships. She trains at the Abbottstown National Aquatic Centre.
After the World Championships in February, when the Irish 4x400m Freestyle teams narrowly missed Olympic qualification by finishing 17th, Riordan announced a temporary retirement from swimming. However, upon hearing the withdrawal of the Japanese team, she resumed full-time training with the team since the end of June.
Mona McSharry, also 23, will be participating in her second Olympics (2020) in the 100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke, and 400m Medley events. She has been training with the University Of Tennessee and Marlins SC. McSharry has cemented her position as Ireland’s most successful female swimmer of this century.
In Tokyo, she became the first Irish swimmer since Michelle Smith in 1996 to reach an Olympic final. The Sligo-born starlet made history by reaching the final of the 100m breaststroke, finishing in a respectable eighth position. McSharry temporarily left the sport, disillusioned, and admitted last year that she had lost her passion for swimming. Nonetheless, she bounced back, securing medal wins at US college level and finishing fifth in Doha’s 100m breaststroke World Championship earlier this year.
Despite her accomplishments, she was left disappointed with her timing in Doha, which was far from her personal best. McSharry holds 14 Irish records, split evenly between individual and relay events.
Daniel Wiffen, at the same age of 23, is also mentioned but without further details.
Daniel Wiffen is a bright prospect for Ireland in the forthcoming Olympics; this being his second appearance, in 2020. He represents the Loughborough University/Lisburn SC Club, and is set to compete in the 400m, 800m, 1500m Freestyle and 10k Open Swim. Born in England and raised in Magherlin, Co Down since the age of two, Wiffen, crowned World Champion in both 800m and 1,500m freestyle, is the thruster for Ireland’s foremost anticipation of a swimming medal in 30 years. His victory in Doha marked him as the first Irishman to land a world title. Additionally, he holds the world record for 800m freestyle.
Wiffen’s focus zeroed in on the Olympics with the conclusion of the World Championships. His exhaustive preparation, funded by a host of new sponsors, has set him in the most excellent physical condition of his life. Less than a medal, according to him, would constitute a substantial letdown.
Aged 24, Danielle Hill is another swimming star to watch in the upcoming Olympics, which also marks her second appearance. Competing in the 50m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, and the 400m Freestyle relay, Hill represents the Larne SC club. Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, rejoices in her status of being Ireland’s fastest female swimmer. Recently, she became the first Irish woman in 27 years to claim a European long-course gold in the 50m backstroke championship that took place in Belgrade, almost beating her own Irish record. Clearly, Ireland’s pool prospects are high.
Hill is notable for her record in an astounding 21 separate events in Irish swimming, either as an individual or within a relay team. She’s the top performer in the 50m freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly events, as well as the 100m backstroke and freestyle events, in both the long and short courses. Despite participating in the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke events at the Tokyo Olympics, she was unable to advance beyond her heat. However, she is determined to outperform herself in future events.
On the other hand, Tom Fannon, aged 26, is well-known as the quickest Irish swimmer in history, holding the short-course record for the 50m freestyle. Hailing from Torquay, England, he used to swim for Great Britain during his teenage years. His accolades include a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle at the 2016 European Junior Championships and a gold with the 4x100m freestyle relay team the previous year. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, he represented England before opting to swim for Ireland and joining the National Centre in Dublin in 2021.
Fannon briefly held the long-course record for the 50m freestyle, having set a fresh record earlier this year. However, this has since been surpassed by Shane Ryan, although it was too late for Ryan to secure his spot for Paris individually. Fannon aims to reestablish his record at the Olympics. To guarantee a place in the semi-final, replicating his best-ever score of 21.94, as seen in Tokyo, will probably be necessary. Falling short of this could potentially hinder Fannon’s progress.