Tuesday, August 1, 2023

SWISS AQUATICS Septième place aux CM pour Noè Ponti sur 100m papillon


 

Dans le bassin de compétition des 20e Championnats du monde de natation de Fukuoka, tous les yeux des fans suisses de natation étaient aujourd'hui tournés vers Noè Ponti. Il était sur les blocs de départ aujourd'hui à 20h42 pour aborder sa finale du 100 m papillon.

Le médaillé olympique de Tokyo s'est qualifié pour la finale en huitième position et a donc pu partir du couloir 8. Il a toujours réussi à suivre le peloton, mais il n'a pas réussi à se placer tout devant. Il s'est positionné en septième position lors du virage et a continué à occuper cette position jusqu'à la fin. Il a terminé sa course après 51.23s. Bien sûr, il aurait espéré mieux de ces championnats du monde - il a nagé une demi-seconde de plus que son meilleur temps en finale - en particulier parce qu'il était en pleine forme juste avant les compétitions, a-t-il admis après la course..  .

Néanmoins, cette septième place dans ce peloton de très haut niveau est une excellente place !

Nous félicitons chaleureusement Noè Ponti pour cette belle performance et lui souhaitons bonne chance pour la dernière épreuve, le relais 4x100m 4-nages, qui aura lieu demain à 10h58 heure locale !

Si vous avez des questions, n'hésitez pas à contacter notre coordinatrice médias Regula Späni. Elle est sur place à Fukuoka pour vous fournir des informations de première main.

Photo: Patrick B. Kraemer

Swim Ireland Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson 11th and 13th in World Semi-Finals


 

Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson have bowed out of the 50m Breaststroke and 50m Backstroke respectively at the semi-final stages, as racing at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan reached its penultimate day.

Mona McSharry completed her individual programme in the semi-finals of the 50m Breaststroke. McSharry, who finished fifth in the 100m Breaststroke Final earlier in the week after achieving a Paris 2024 qualification in the heats, touched in 30.54 for sixth in her heat and eleventh overall.

Reflecting on her week of individual events McSharry said ‘A little disappointed with that swim, obviously coming out that’s all that’s on my mind now, but yeah I do have to go back and look at the whole meet and really just take a step back, this is really something I’ve never done before, I’ve never gotten into three semi-finals at a world level, so that’s something to be really proud of and you know I did the job, I’ve qualified for the Olympics and now I can train for the year and be faster and stronger next year’.

Conor Ferguson had a solid swim in the 50m Backstroke semi-final, his first semi-final at a World Championships. The 23-year-old was sixth in his heat in 25.09, finishing thirteenth overall.

Speaking after the race Ferguson commented ‘It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling because I wasn’t faster than this morning, I was close to my pb (personal best) but yeah, I’m just taking it all in, experiencing my first semi-final at a world level and at this stage, this year, coming up to the Olympic cycle, I can only take positives from it’.

McSharry returns to the pool tomorrow morning in the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay, where she will be joined by Danielle Hill, Ellen Walshe and Victoria Catterson, while Ferguson will go in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay with Darragh Greene, Max McCusker and Shane Ryan.

Both relays will be hoping to secure at least top sixteen times; the top three teams in these relay finals will confirm places for Paris, with the remaining thirteen teams coming from the top times in Fukuoka and the Doha World Aquatics Championships in February 2024.

Also, in action tomorrow, Daniel Wiffen swims the 1500m Freestyle Final at 12.16pm (Ireland) after he advanced in second place from the heats this morning in 14:43.50. Wiffen was fourth in the 800m Freestyle Final earlier in the week and will be hoping to step up on the podium this time round. Ellen Walshe makes her long awaited return to the pool in the 400m Individual Medley. The Templeogue swimmer has not competed since the first day of competition where she secured the Olympic Qualification Time in the semi-final of the 200m Individual Medley.

Silver for Róisín Ní Riain and a Paris 2024 Slot Secured for Team Ireland


 

Róisín Ní Riain got Team Ireland’s Para Swimming World Championships off to a flying start by setting a new personal best, winning a silver medal, and securing a slot for at Paris 2024 for Team Ireland all in one go.

Her time of 01:06.00 in the 100m Butterfly Final (S13) saw her shave over two seconds off her previous fastest time to claim silver. A gold or silver medal at the championships means that that athlete’s country wins a slot for Paris 2024.

Speaking after her event Róisín said, “I’m really shocked to be honest! I love this swim as it’s not too much pressure for me. That’s my first PB in that event since Tokyo, I’ve been stuck there for a while so it’s nice to get a PB. I think this was kind of unexpected tonight, but it came as a nice surprise, but it definitely takes some of the pressure off for the rest of the week.”

Ni Riain is easily the busiest of Team Ireland as she is pencilled in to swim in five events over the course of the week, two of which could lead to more finals for the Limerick swimmer. Her next event, the 100m Breaststroke Final (S13) is tomorrow evening at 20:15.

To see the full interview with Róisín Ní Riain click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAmr817UaJg

The 2023 Allianz Para Swimming World Championships will be streamed live on the Para Swimming website, Facebook Page and Paralympics YouTube Channel.

Find out more about where to watch here.

Full Schedule and live results here.

Para Swimming World Championships

Day 1 Results:

Roisin Ni Riain: 100m Butterfly Final (S13) / 01:06.00 / 2nd Place

 

Day 2 (August 1) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

20:15 - Roisin Ni Riain: 100m Breaststroke Final (event 47)

 

Day 3 (August 2) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

Nicole Turner: 200m IM Final (event 65)

Barry McClements: 100m Butterfly Heat (event 66)

 

Day 4 (August 3) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

Roisin Ni Riain: 100m Backstroke Final (event 84)

 

Day 5 (August 4) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

Nicole Turner: 50m Freestyle Heat (event 122)

Barry McClements: 400m Freestyle Heat (event 105)

 

Day 6 (August 5) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

Roisin Ni Riain: 400m Freestyle Heat (event 127)

Nicole Turner: 100m Breaststroke Final (event 144)

Barry McClements: 100m Backstroke Heat (event 143)

 

Day 7 (August 6) Para Swimming World Championships Schedule:

Roisin Ni Riain: 200m IM Heat (event 160)

Ellen Keane: 100m Breaststroke Heat (event 150)

Nicole Turner: 50m Butterfly Final (event 166)

Dearbhaile Brady: 50m Butterfly Final (event 166)

Irish Para Swimmers Begin their Quest to Secure Slots for Paris 2024


 

The 11th edition of the Para Swimming World Championships kicks off at the Manchester Aquatics Centre tomorrow, July 31st and will run until August 6th. Manchester 2023 will be the third time the World Championships have taken place in Great Britain following London in 2019 and Glasgow in 2015.

The championships will be the first chance for team Ireland to qualify slots for Paris 2024, which is just over one year away. A gold or silver medal by any of the athletes will guarantee a slot for the team at next summer’s Paralympic Games.

The team is made up of four Paralympians and one new Irish para swimmer. Ellen Keane, Nicole Turner, Roisin Ni Riain and Barry McClements are joined by newcomer Dearbhaile Brady to make up the five strong Irish team.

Speaking about the championships, Para Swimming Performance Director, Dave Malone said, “Preparations have gone really well. We’ve had a tight schedule since Tokyo 2021 and the world championships last year in Madeira so it just seems like a really tight turnaround. This is an important week for us because it’s how we start the qualification process for Paris and all our performances here are vital in terms of securing as many slots as possible for the games.”

Commenting on the depth of experience in the team along with debutant Derbhaile Brady he said, “There’s great experience across this team because we’ve always had a number of athletes that have tremendous careers across multiple games. As we go through that we have new athletes coming through all the time and it’s great to see another young athlete has stepped up into that space now.

This will be Dearbhaile’s first ever major championship. World championships for her is all about experience and being like a sponge trying to soak it all up and we’ll try to make the experience as positive as possible, and I think having more experienced athletes on the team only aides us in that development of our younger athletes.”

For full interview with Dave Malone click here. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paralympics-ireland/episodes/2023-Para-Swimming-World-Championships-Preview-with-Dave-Malone-e27ir34

The Manchester 2023 Allianz Para Swimming World Championships will be streamed live on the Para Swimming website, Facebook Page and Paralympic Games YouTube Channel.

Find out more about where to watch here. https://www.paralympic.org/news/manchester-2023-where-watch

Full Schedule and live results here. https://www.paralympic.org/manchester-2023/schedule-and-results

Schedule (by athlete) Below:

Roisin Ni Riain

Day 1 (July 31): 100m Butterfly Final / Time: 18:02

Day 2 (Aug 1): 100m Breaststroke Final

Day 4 (Aug 3): 100m Backstroke Final

Day 6 (Aug 5): 400m Freestyle Heat

Day 7 (Aug 6): 200m IM Heat

 

Nicole Turner

Day 3 (Aug 2): 200m IM Final

Day 5 (Aug 4): 50m Freestyle Heat

Day 6 (Aug 5): 100m Breaststroke Final

Day 7 (Aug 6): 50m Butterfly Final

 

Barry McClements

Day 3 (Aug 2): 100m Butterfly Final

Day 5 (Aug 4): 400m Freestyle Heat

Day 6 (Aug 5): 100m Backstroke Heat

 

Ellen Keane

Day 7 (Aug 6): 100m Butterfly Final

Dearbhaile Brady

Day 7 (Aug 6): 50m Butterfly Final

Ireland Relays Both 13th at World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka


 

Ireland’s Women’s and Men’s 4x100m Medley Relays both finished in thirteenth position in this morning’s heats at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, provisionally placing them within the sixteen relay spots available for Paris 2024. Fukuoka is the first opportunity for relays to qualify for the Games, with a second and final opportunity at the Doha 2024 World Championships where relays can be moved up or down the rankings.

The women’s team of Danielle Hill (Backstroke), Mona McSharry (Breaststroke), Ellen Walshe (Butterfly) and Victoria Catterson (Freestyle) set a new Irish Record when they combined for a time of 4:01.25. The quartet had held the previous standard of 4:02.93 from the 2021 European Championships.

Speaking after the race Hill said, ‘It was nice to get out there with the girls, I think it’s only maybe the second time we raced together so I think the more we do it, the more we’re going to learn, and that’s what we’ve got to take from this, thirteenth is a nice place to be, but we would like more.’

McSharry added ‘I was really excited to get to finish the meet with the girls, get out there, just have fun and enjoy it, this is only the start for us, it’s going to be really exciting to see what we can do next year’.

Catterson added ‘It’s always a privilege to be included and to be able to race with these girls, it was us exact four who held the record, so to show we’re coming on in such big amounts only shows what’s to come. Thirteenth is a decent place to be but we’re always going to be looking for higher, we’re not satisfied with being comfortable in thirteenth we want to solidify our place and get to Paris’.

Ireland’s Men’s team of Conor Ferguson (Backstroke), Darragh Greene (Breaststroke), Max McCusker (Butterfly) and Shane Ryan (Freestyle) came home in 3:35.03 to win their heat, just 0.41 outside of the Irish Record of 3:34.62 set in 2021.

Conor Ferguson led out the team in the first leg in his second fastest time ever in the 100m Backstroke clocking 54.14 ‘I’m absolutely delighted with that, I’m even more delighted to be able to lead that relay off for the boys, it’s been a phenomenal trip, and camp’. Darragh Greene added ‘It was good, definitely a lot more we can play with, it’s a really promising team with Shane on the back end now and Max on Butterfly so really looking forward to where this can go.’

Shane Ryan, competing at his third World Championships said ‘It was a great honour getting to represent Ireland in a relay, especially at World level and all the boys really went in there concentrated and knew what we needed to do and what teams we needed to beat and we ended up placing thirteenth and we still have a lot to drop there because this is the first time we’re all swimming together, first time I’m doing Freestyle, we’ve a lot more to give which is really really exciting’.

McCusker added ‘We’ve all been together for three weeks, there’s good energy between all of us, like Shane said we’ve got a lot of room to move forward there’.

Ellen Walshe was also in action in the 400m Individual Medley this morning. Walshe had last raced on the opening day of competition, where she secured an Olympic Qualification Time in the 200m Individual Medley. Today, Walshe swam her fourth fastest time ever in the event of 4:43.24 to finish in sixteenth place overall.

Speaking after the race the 22-year-old said ‘It’s been a challenge to sit back for six days and you’re kind of out of the competition and to come back today and try to be as included as you can, standing on the block with the girls after the 400 IM is going to be a tough turnaround but I’m proud of the girls and I know we’ve got more to give.’

Later today, Daniel Wiffen swims the 1500m Freestyle Final. Wiffen is the second ranked swimmer going into the race and has the fastest lifetime best of all eight qualifiers. The 1500m Freestyle Final take place at 12.16pm (Ireland)

 

Sunday 29th July Results

Women 400m Individual Medley Ellen Walshe 4:43.24 (16th)

Men 4x100m Medley Relay Ireland 3:35.03 (13th)

Women 4x100m Medley Relay Ireland 4:01.25 (13th)

 

Sunday 29th July Schedule

Men 1500m Freestyle Daniel Wiffen 12.16pm (Ireland)

The World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka is the first of three opportunities for Irish swimmers to secure individual Olympic places, the second being the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar in February 2024, and the third being the Irish Open Swimming Championships in May 2024.

For relays, the top three teams in Olympic relay events in Fukuoka will confirm places for Paris, with the remaining thirteen teams coming from the top times in Fukuoka and the Doha World Aquatics Championships.

Swimming at the World Aquatics Championships will take place from Sunday 23rd to Sunday 30th July.

Trish Mayon Head of Communications and Sponsorship Liaison

Danske verdensklassepræstationer begejstrer elitechef


 

For Danmark og dansk svømmesport bød verdensmesterskaberne i svømning på flere toppræstationer. Øverst står to top-5 placeringer, et nordisk rekordløb og tre nationspladser til OL i Paris næste sommer.

Begejstringen over VM-holdets performance er tydelig at spore hos den sportslige ledelse i SvømDanmark, og elitechef Lars Robl tøver ikke med at blåstemple VM-holdets indsats.

”Vi har verdensklasseatleter. Det er et absolut godkendt VM med flere danske toppræstationer. Jeg er rigtig tilfreds ud fra et proces- og resultatperspektiv. Alle har taget store skridt i processen mod de olympiske lege i Paris, og jeg er overbevist om, at alle kvinderne, der er med her, formår at kvalificere sig i den kommende tid frem mod OL,” siger Lars Robl og uddyber:

”Der er konsistens i udviklingen. Vores profiler udvikler sig og bliver bedre for hvert mesterskab. Fra EM i Rom til VM i Melbourne og nu VM i Fukuoka. Atleter såvel som stab har virkelig adopteret mindsettet om, at vi er til internationale mesterskaber for at præstere og for at kæmpe med om medaljerne – ikke som statister. Det lover godt for fremtiden og den præstationskultur, vi vil skabe på alle vores landshold.”

 

OL-kvalifikationer giver optimal forberedelse

I løbet af VM sikrede først Helena Rosendahl Bach, så Thea Blomsterberg og sidst Julie Kepp Jensen nationspladser til OL i Paris. Trioen har nu et år til at forberede sig, så de er i fysisk og mental topform, når de olympiske lege starter.

”Kvalifikationerne giver ro. Med afsæt i individuelle udviklingssamtaler ser vi nu på, hvordan vi bruger det næste år bedst muligt for den enkelte atlet – også de som på nuværende tidspunkt ikke er kvalificeret. Vi kommer til at fokusere på effekten af mulige indsatser og igangsætter dem, der kan løfte svømmernes niveau på kort og lang sigt,” siger Lars Robl.

 

Grundig VM-evaluering i vente

Evalueringen af de internationale mesterskaber er SvømDanmarks sportsafdeling begyndt at gribe anderledes an. Denne gang bliver det endnu mere vidtgående. Manden ved roret vil helt til bunds, hvad angår forløbet frem mod VM og konkurrencedagene.

”Vi har tilbragt mange dage sammen ved fronten, og i kampens hede har det resulteret i gode diskussioner på holdet, blandt svømmerne og i staben. Store og små spørgsmål er blevet vendt og drejet, men jeg vil sikre, at svømmerne får de bedst mulige forudsætninger det næste år og på den længere bane frem mod OL i 2028 og 2032. Derfor en dybdegående evaluering,” forklarer Lars Robl.

En strategisk prioriteret indsats i den nye strategi for international high performance er holdkapprojekter. Sportschefen havde derfor håbet, at flere holdkapper ville kvalificere sig til VM, men det skete desværre ikke. Alligevel var der dansk deltagelse i 4x100m frisvømning og 4x100m holdmedley. 

”Vi valgte at deltage i de relevante holdkapper med de atleter, som vi havde til rådighed. Det gjorde vi for at få en indikation af, hvad det kræver at svømme top-8 tider til OL,” siger Lars Robl og afslutter:

”I evalueringen af VM skal der derfor også kigges nærmere på den plan, der er lagt frem mod OL. Måske skal noget justeres til – måske ikke – men sikkert er det: Vi sender ikke svømmere til OL for at være med. Vi sender svømmere til OL for at præstere.”

 

VM Langbane 2023 i tal

Tre nationspladser til OL

Helena Rosendahl Bach, Aalborg Svømmeklub, 200m butterfly

Thea Blomsterberg, Swim Team Odense, 200m brystsvømning

Julie Kepp Jensen, A6/NTC, 50m frisvømning

To top-5 placeringer

En top-10 placering

Fire top-16 placeringer

En nordisk og dansk rekord

Samlet PR-% på 30

 

Danmarks VM-hold

Emilie Beckmann, GTI Swim/NTC 

Helena Rosendahl Bach, Aalborg Svømmeklub 

Julie Kepp Jensen, A6/NTC 

Signe Bro, Svømmeklubben Triton Ballerup 

Thea Blomsterberg, Swim Team Odense 

Bjørn Sørensen, cheftræner Aalborg Svømmeklub 

Eric Andersson, cheftræner Swim Team Odense 

Jon Langberg, NTC-træner 

Lars Robl, sportschef i SvømDanmark 

Henriette Soelberg Jensen, official 

Jens-Christian Iversen, en del af World Aquatics tekniske komité

Annika Bornebusch Dansk high diver springer sig til en 20. plads


 

Tirsdag skrev Annika Bornebusch fra Svømmeklubben FREM Odense dansk idrætshistorie, da hun som den første dansker nogensinde deltog i et officielt verdensmesterskab i high diving.

Konkurrencen består af fire spring fra 20 meters højde. De to første spring sprang den 31-årige high diver i går, mens det i dag gjaldt mesterskabets sidste to spring.

I smukke omgivelser på stranden i Fukuoka viste scoreboardet en 20. plads og en samlet pointscore på 188,10 efter det fjerde og afsluttende spring. Pointtotalen er blot 1,6 point fra hendes personlige rekord, som hun satte i Fort Lauderdale tilbage i maj, hvor hun kvalificerede sig til VM.

Den firedobbelte danmarksmester sætter dermed en tyk streg under sit høje niveau og viser endnu en gang, at hun har udviklet sig rigtig meget siden forrige sommer. Ved europamesterskaberne i Rom i august 2022 blev hun nummer seks med en pointscore på 166 point.

SvømDanmark ønsker Annika, Svømmeklubben FREM Odense og High Diving Denmark stort tillykke med det historiske resultat.

Kort om VM i high diving

Verdensmesterskabet finder sted fra tirsdag den 25. juli til torsdag den 27. juli. Hver high diver springer fire spring, og summen af springenes point lægges til sidst sammen. Annika Bornebusch sprang sine to første spring tirsdag klokken 04.30 (dansk tid) og sine to sidste spring onsdag klokken 05.00 (dansk tid).

World Aquatics (tidligere FINA) har afholdt VM i high diving siden 2013. Inden da har danskere deltaget i uofficielle verdensmesterskaber f.eks. den danske Magnus Gardarsson, som vandt konkurrencerne tilbage i 2003.

På SvømDanmarks sociale medier dækker vi den historiske begivenhed, så følg allerede nu med på Facebook og Instagram.

 

Om Annika Bornebusch

Født og opvokset i Køge.

Bor i Odense og træner til dagligt i Svømmeklubben FREM Odense.

Gik på Gymnastikhøjskolen i Ollerup, hvor hun fik øjnene op for udspring.

Ungdomsuddannelse: Køge Gymnasium.

Videregående uddannelse: Københavns Universitet.

Danmarksmester fire gange i træk.

Bedste internationale resultat: 6. plads til EM i High Diving Rom 2022.

Favoritspring: Håndstand molberg halv salto i sammenbøjet position (631C eller ”håndstand mellemspring”).

Danmarksmester i snowboarddisciplinen Big Air i 2018.

Af: Klaus Bach Christensen, kommunikationskonsulent