John Shortt and Grace Davison, two up-and-coming teenage swimmers, were among the highlights on the third day of Swim Ireland’s Olympic Trials held at Dublin’s National Aquatic Centre. Shortt, a 17-year-old from Galway, who trains at the National Centre in Limerick, had a promising start in the 200m backstroke and won his heat, finishing just a half-second shy of his own Irish record of 1:58.47, with a time of 1:59.03.
Buoyed by his morning performance, Shortt took to the water again in the evening and triumphed with an outstanding time of 1:57.90, setting a new national senior, junior, and championship record, also securing his place in the European Championships scheduled next month in Belgrade.
Despite his timing being just outside the Olympic qualification time of 1:57.50, it was indeed a significant milestone for Shortt. By the evening, Davison also emerged victorious in the women’s 400m freestyle, setting another junior record with 55.44 in her semi-final before winning in 55.56, with Victoria Catterson finishing second at 55.72.
In the men’s 400m freestyle, Cormac Rynn from National Centre Limerick showcased his first sub-four-minute completion, leading in the heats, which included Daniel Wiffen – he clocked 3:57.79. Wiffen, the only other competitor to swim under four minutes (3:59.81), decided to skip the final. However, Rynn topped the finals with a time of 3:54.66, recording a new national junior record too.
Wiffen, who wasn’t peaking for this event and is still training intensively at 85km weekly, stated that his main focus at this time is the trials in Paris. Amelia Kane, another talent from Ards, led the women’s 400m freestyle heats, clocking in 4:23.97, followed by nationals champions Grace Hodgins, who recorded win in heat three in 4:25.01. Eventually, Kane clinched the final with 4:21.93, while Hodgins finished in 4:28.91.
In the men’s 50m Super Final, Tom Fannon was narrowly defeated by Calum Bain with a time difference of 22.06 to 22.07, even though Fannon had already secured his spot for the Olympics on Thursday with a swimming time of 19.94. Darragh Greene also competed in the 100m breaststroke again, winning the semi-final in 1:00.36 and later clinching the final victory with a time of 1:00.54.
Previously on Thursday, Darragh Greene broke a Championship Record by swimming 59.91 in the 100m breaststroke. He entered the final aiming for the 59.49 Paris qualification time; clocked 1:00.36 in the semi-final and ended up finishing with a time of 1:00.54.
Similarly, Max McCusker competed in the 100m butterfly A finals, breaking the 52 seconds barrier by swimming a winning time of 51.97, again just shy of the Paris qualifying time of 51.67 and surpassing Jack Cassin who clocked 54.17.
The Paris qualifying times have so far been met by Daniel Wiffen in the categories of 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle; Ellen Walshe in the 200m IM; Mona McSharry in the 100m breaststroke; Danielle Hill in the 100m backstroke, and indeed by Tom Fannon in the 50m Freestyle.
The women’s 4x100m medley relay team as well as the men’s 4x100m medley relay team have also qualified. They each need a pair of Olympic qualification times to secure their place when they receive the Olympic invitation.