Thursday, April 6, 2023

Swim Ireland - Catterson Breaks 200m Freestyle Record, Fannon and McSharry Secure World Championships Qualification Times


 

Swim Ireland’s Irish Open Swimming Championships ended in Dublin today, with National Centre Ulster’s Victoria Catterson breaking the 200m Freestyle Irish Senior Record and National Centre Dublin’s Tom Fannon adding his name to the consideration list for the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in July.

Catterson, dipped under the two-minute mark for the second time in her career to set a new Irish Senior Record in the 200m Freestyle in 1:59.74, .12 under her previous standard of 1:59.86 from the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The time is also enough to see Catterson considered for the European U23 Championships in Dublin in August.

Fannon, who set a new Irish Record in the 50m Freestyle as a split in the 100m Freestyle Heats on Sunday, needed to go under 22.12 to secure the ‘A’ time for the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka; the National Centre Dublin swimmer delivered twice today, clocking 22.11 in the heats, followed by 22.02 in the Final to win gold and the National Title.

In the 200m Breaststroke Final, Mona McSharry swam an impressive 2:25.70, under the World Aquatics Championships ‘A’ time of 2:25.91 and European U23 Championships consideration time of 2:27.51. McSharry’s gold medal swim was also a Championship Record, breaking a 2018 record of 2:26.59.

Danielle Hill will be pleased with her week as she finished with a National Title and Championship Record in the 50m Backstroke, adding to 50m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly Titles. The Larne swimmer also posted a World Aquatics Championships ‘A’ time in the 100m Backstroke on Tuesday. Today’s swim saw Hill finish in 28.11 ahead of Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe in 28.97.

In the 200m Individual Medley (IM) Final, National Centre Limerick’s Jack Cassin delivered a third Irish Junior Record. The 18-year-old, had already set a 400m IM Senior and Junior Record and 100m Butterfly Junior Record. Clocking 2:03.16 today, Cassin broke Ethan Hansen’s 2021 record of 2:03.48.

Larne’s Nathan Wiffen cruised to a second National Title and a ten second personal best in the 1500m Final. Wiffen clocked 15:34.17 as the only swimmer under the 16-minute mark. Aer Lingus’ Ben Moran won silver in 16:25.59 with Trojan’s Ronan Fahey taking bronze in 16:38.52.

Additional consideration times met today included Lisburn’s Dylan Registe (50m Freestyle), Ellie McCartney (200m Breaststroke) and Molly Mayne (200m Breaststroke) for the European U23 Championships and European Junior Championships with McCartney and Registe also under consideration for the Commonwealth Youth Games, while Niamh Connery posted a second consideration time for the European Youth Olympic Festival.

Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd commented “This Championships was a huge step forwards for the Irish swimming community as a whole, particularly when we compare it to the post-COVID equivalent in 2022. Seven athletes put their names into contention for individual events at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this summer and that is before we consider what relays we opt to compete in. Fukuoka is the first major step for us towards the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 – the first of three qualification opportunities for our athletes. Alongside this, we have over 20 additional athletes make themselves known for our junior, youth and open water teams this summer. That’s a highly significant number of selections for us to consider – with 7 Irish Senior Records and 5 Irish Junior Records thrown into the mix for good measure. I’m very proud of Irish swimming today, with selection considerations coming from all four of our Provinces. With 100 days to go until Fukuoka commences, I’ll be honoured as always to lead our senior National Team into what could be a very rewarding World Championships for Ireland”.

Day 5 Results

Women 50m Backstroke Final: 1st Danielle Hill Larne 28.11 Ellen Walshe Templeogue 28.97 3rd Lottie Cullen Swim Belfast 29.14

Women 200m Breaststroke Final: 1st Mona McSharry Marlins 2:25.70 2nd Niamh Coyne National Centre Dublin 2:29.49 3rd Olwyn Cooke Limerick 2:31.14

Men 50m Freestyle Final: 1st Tom Fannon National Centre Dublin 22.02 2nd Calum Bain National Centre Dublin 22.41 3rd Matthew Walsh Hussey NAC 23.07

Women 200m Freestyle Final: 1st Victoria Catterson National Centre Ulster 1:59.74 ISR 2nd Grace Davison Ards 2:02.72 2rd Naomi Trait UCD 2:05.52                    

Men 1500m Freestyle Final: 1st Nathan Wiffen Larne 15:34.17 2nd Ben Moran Aer Lingus 16:25.59 3rd Ronan Fahey Trojan 16:38.52

Men 200m IM Finals: 1st Jack Cassin National Centre Limerick 2:03.16 2nd Cadan McCarthy National Centre Limerick 2:07.78 3rd Liam Custer Sundays Well 2:08.82

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