The Irish Para Swimming Team has been
announced to represent Ireland at the Para Swimming World Championships this
summer. Manchester will play host to the 11th edition of the Para Swimming
World Championships from 31 July to 6 August 2023.
The team is made up of four
Paralympians and one new Irish para swimmer.
Ellen Keane spearheads the team as
the seasoned Paralympian with four Paralympic Games under her belt and one more
on the horizon.
Speaking about the World
Championships, Keane said, “I’m so excited. The pool that we’re going to be
competing in is really fast, it’s a really great pool to race in. It’s a new
team that we’re bringing away with some new faces and it’s great to see such a
young team. I’m excited to see them compete and support them.”
Paralympic silver medalist Nicole
Turner adds to the experience of the team, hoping to qualify for her third
Paralympic games this year. Turner, from Laois, has picked up two silver medals
on the Para Swimming World Series in both Melbourne and Minneapolis this year.
Limerick native Róisín Ní Riain has
had a great start to 2023 fitting her training and competition schedule around
sitting the leaving cert this summer. After breaking two world records at the
Irish Winter Championships in 2022 she set another world record at the Para
Swimming World Series in Berlin this May.
Tokyo Paralympian Barry McClements
will hope to continue his consistent form from earlier this year at the Para
Swimming World Series in Minneapolis. The Down man collected two silver medals
in the 100m backstroke and the 100m fly.
It will also be an exciting week for
Derry’s Derbhaile Brady as she will be making her major championship debut for
Ireland.
Speaking on the announcement, Para
Swimming Performance Director, Dave Malone said, “We’re looking forward to
competing against the world's best athletes over 7 days of competition in
Manchester.
Following the success of the team at
last year's world championships, we expect an even greater challenge this year
and our team have been focusing on performing at a key milestone event towards
the Paris Paralympic Games. We’re looking forward to Dearbhaile Brady competing
at her first ever major championships for Ireland.”
Para Swimming World Championships
from 31 July to 6 August 2023
Ellen Keane | NAC Dublin
Nicole Turner | NAC Dublin
Róisín Ní Riain | National Centre
(Limerick)
Barry McClements | Ards Swimming Club
Dearbhaile Brady | Limavady
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