The Irish aquatics team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris consists of twelve swimmers, and they will be participating alongside Ciara McGing. McGing has secured her spot in the Women’s 10m Platform diving event, joining Jake Passmore who was previously chosen for the diving team.
The swimming activities are scheduled to happen from July 27th to August 4th at Paris La Défense Arena, while McGing’s competition is set for August 5th and 6th.
Daniel Wiffen, the current world champion in 800m and 1,500m freestyle swimming, is part of these Games and is eager to hit the taper after a fulfilling training session. He relishes the idea of competing in Paris amidst a large, well-prepared team, who are looking forward to putting their best foot forward.
Jon Rudd, Swim Ireland’s performance director, and Team Ireland’s aquatic team leader, praised the strength and size of the squad: “It’s our highest ever in terms of competitiveness and numbers. It’s been a journey of consistent development, self-belief and timely execution for these athletes since our Tokyo goodbye. Both our individual and relay groups deliver excellent performances, and we are at full capacity.”
The swimming team includes Victoria Catterson, Grace Davison, Tom Fannon, Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Danielle Hill, Max McCusker, Mona McSharry, and Erin Riordan. They are all looking forward to representing Ireland at these stellar events.
The National Centre in Dublin is home to Shane Ryan, male contender in the 400m medley relay. Meanwhile, at Templeogue SC we find Ellen Walshe; she is to participate in the women’s 100m Butterfly, 200m IM, 400m IM and 400m Medley Relay. Daniel Wiffen of Loughborough University will represent in the 800m Freestyle, 1500m Freestyle and the Open Water 10km for males. An update is yet to be confirmed for the female 400m freestyle relay.
In the diving sector, we have Ciara McGing from Ohio State University on the female 10m platform and Jake Passmore from the City of Leeds will feature on the male 3m springboard.
Providing support for these athletes is a dedicated team of professionals: Jon Rudd, the Team Leader; Steven Beckerleg and John Szaranek, the Coaches; Fiona Burke, the Team Manager; Paul Talty, the Lead for Physical Preparation & SSM; Kevin McGuigan, the Performance Analyst and Robbie Smyth, the Physiotherapist. Jon Rudd will also lead the marathon swimming division, with Jonathan Preston as the Coach, and Robbie Smyth as the Physiotherapist. The diving team will be led by Damian Ball, with Marc Holdsworth as the Coach, and support from the Sport Ireland Institute’s Physiotherapist.