National Teams for Summer 2019 International Meets Announced

-


Swim Ireland have announced their team for this years FINA World Championships in Korea, and it will be led by 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championship bronze medalist Shane Ryan. 


Ryan, will be joined by World Youth Olympics medallist Niamh Coyne, World Junior silver medallist Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Jordan Sloan, Robbie Powell, Brendan Hyland, Jack McMillan, Curtis Coulter and Ellen Walshe.


An 8-strong team has also been selected for the LEN European Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia. Named in the team are Eoin Corby, Amelia Kane and Daniel Wiffin, who will also participate at this year’s FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest, along with Uiseann Cooke, Paddy Johnston, Alfie Kelly, Sean Scannell and Sean McNicholl. 


Nominations to the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) have also been made for a small but focused team to feature at the IOC European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku, with Molly Mayne and Ellie McKibbin being considered by the OFI for selection ratification in the coming weeks.


Ireland’s National Performance Director Jon Rudd was in an upbeat mood after the announcements saying, “We asked our athletes and coaches to once again step up and deliver performances in a sole trials period and this selection is a culmination of that process. For our three junior/youth teams, athletes had to deliver high standards in the heats to have the easiest passage onto our National Teams and those selected here were all able to do that in a pressurised trials environment.”


“Both our season best and lifetime best performances at the Irish Open were impressive and we can now focus on this final cycle into the summer and deliver again in each athlete’s benchmark meet. The Olympic Games are closer than ever and we are no less than one year away from our own Olympic Trials. With this in mind, opportunities and challenges such as those before us this summer must be used wisely – for both the moment itself and in preparation for Tokyo. We can all feel and see our progress and the summer of 2019 will be yet another important step for those of us seeking international success from Irish swimming,” continued Rudd. 


Photo courtesy of Swim Ireland 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Treacy moving up to D1 level as career progression continues

-
Image
By Gerard Mulreaney ( @gerardmulreaney ) When Matt Treacy first picked up a basketball he fell in love with the game.  Growing up in Glasnevin, Dublin, Treacy played ball for Tolka Rovers, even though he lived much closer to St Vincent’s basketball club. At just five years of age, and with no family connection to the game, he joined the newly formed Tharren Reid basketball academy on Tuesday’s, just for something to do, and he’s never looked back since. “What is love? Love is playing every game like it's your last.”  ―   Micheal Jordan In the middle of November Treacy announced on social media that he will join Division 1 school Bryant University for his Junior year, joining his fellow-countryman Aidan Harris Igiehon (Louisville) at the D1 level. Treacy says he can’t wait to get up there: “I’m really looking forward to getting up there next season. They really provided everything that I was looking for from a D1 school for next year. Their style of play,
Read more

Tennis star Carr looking ahead to a big year

-
Image
By Gerard Mulreaney ( @gerard_sports ) Ireland’s Simon Carr heads into the 2020 tennis season with great confidence after having what he described as ‘a breakthrough year’ in 2019. He secured his first ITF title in Tunisia in April, beating Christian Lindell of Sweden in straight sets, 6-1 6-3. Then, in July he helped Ireland to promotion into Group 3 of the Davis Cup, winning 4 out of his 5 matches.  Just before Christmas Carr (pictured above) finished of the year by reaching the semi-finals of the ITF tournament in Heraklion, Greece. He beat Ryan Nijboer, Jakub Paul and Stuart Parker on the way to the semis, eventually losing to 17-year-old Russian Alibek Kachmazov 7-5 6-3. When I spoke to him over the festive season, he was recharging his batteries as he looks to get himself further up the rankings in 2020. He was happy enough with the way 2019 went: “Yeah 2019 was a good year. It was a bit of a breakthrough year for me, winning my first futures title in singles,
Read more

Jockey Kelly off the mark with a winner at Thurles

-
Image
By Gerard Mulreaney ( @gerardmulreaney ) When the Padraig Roche trained Open To The World won the Molony Cup Handicap Chase at Thurles last Friday, it gave 18 year old jockey Aidan Kelly from Monasterevin in Kildare his first winner.  Kelly didn’t realise he won until travelling head lad Pascal came out with a big smile on his face. He said: “I was delighted when I figured out that I had won. It’s great to have gotten a winner here in Ireland as it’s so hard to get rides.” Victory never really looked likely as Kelly, claiming 7lbs, was struggling in the final half mile. However, having ridden the mare ten times he thought he could get more out of her in the final stages: “Throughout the race the mare never really travelled well for me, but after riding her so many times I knew her inside out and thought she might pick up a bit of prize-money.  “I wasn’t expecting her to go out and win in the end. Jumping the last she had gotten in tight and I thought my chance of win
Read more