Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe set her third Irish Senior Record of the week on Friday night at the Swim Ireland Performance Meet.
The 20-year-old clocked an impressive
2:13.17 in the morning heats of the 200m Individual Medley, lowering the
long-standing record set by Grainne Murphy in 2009.
In the evening Walshe improved on
this time significantly, clocking 2:12.02, which is under the FINA ‘A’ standard
of 2:12.56 for the upcoming Olympic Games. Swim Ireland’s own selection policy
for the Tokyo Games provides that to be in a position to qualify for the Games
from this June Performance Meet, athletes had to be within 1.5% of the FINA ‘A’
standard at the Olympic Trials meet in April.
Prior to the meet, Swim Ireland named
the 10 athletes who were in that position and Walshe was not one of them. The
matter will be taken under consideration.
Speaking about the swim, Walshe said:
“It just hurts, but I’m delighted with it. I still can’t believe it. I was just
hoping I would be out faster than this morning. I was a little bit nervous
tonight. I knew I had to try and stay calm, people were saying good luck to me
and it gets into me sometimes.
“But I knew I had to try to stay
chill, and it obviously works when I’m calm, I just swim so much better. I just
can’t thank enough everyone who has got me to this point.”
Cookstown’s Calum Bain came close to
mirroring Walshe’s feat when posting 22.18 in the Men’s 50m Freestyle. The time
was 0.04s slower than the Irish Senior Record and agonisingly close to the FINA
‘A’ standard of 22.01 and he will get another opportunity on Saturday night to
achieve that in a time trial.
Also in record-breaking form was
Cillian Melly, who set a new Irish Senior Record in the gruelling 400m
Individual Medley, clocking 4:23.22.
The National Centre Dublin swimmer
said: “That was tough. It’s been about two years since I’ve done 400m IM, so
it’s nice to get under that Irish Senior Record, I came close two years ago, so
I said I wanted it back. It hurt a lot on the way home, but I knew I had to put
myself in contention.”
In the Men’s 200m Individual Medley,
Trojan Swimming Club’s Ethan Hansen twice broke the Irish Junior Record
previously owned by Eoin Corby. He finished up in the final with 2:04.11.
Saturday’s final day of action
includes Eoin Corby and Niamh Coyne bidding for an Olympic Consideration Time
in 200m Breaststroke. Danielle Hill will go for the Irish Senior Record in 50m
Freestyle, and there will be additional opportunities for swimmers to achieve
FINA ‘A’ times in three time trials.
They are Men’s 50m Freestyle, Men’s
200m Freestyle and Men’s 100m Backstroke. These will take place after the last
final.
Issued by Swim Ireland
PHOTOS: Credit David Kiberd
Michael Phelps Teaches Swimming
Most of us can swim, but there’s a
difference between dog paddling on vacation and swimming for fitness. If you’re
looking to unlock the low-impact, calorie-burning benefits of swimming, check
out this course from Michael Phelps on This Skills. The 26-time Olympic gold
medalist will cover everything you need to feel confidant and comfortable
swimming laps. You’ll learn all the basic strokes, plus wall kicking, diving
and other techniques, but you’ll also get a glimpse into the mindset of the
most decorated Olympian of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment