Gold Medal for McMahon and Ireland at 2011 European Junior Swimming Championships

The 38th European Junior Swimming Championships got underway today (Wednesday) in Belgrade, Serbia. Ireland has sent a strong team to the event, with eight swimmers competing over the five days of competition at the Tasmajdan Swimming Complex.

Leander swimmer Sycerika McMahon has claimed her first medal of the Championships, winning Gold in the final of the 50m Breaststroke in a new Irish Senior Record time of 32:00, beating the previous time set by Emma Robinson back in 2002. McMahon finished ahead of a strong field, with Hungarian Anna Sztankovics in second place (32.02) and Jenna Laukkanen of Finland taking third (32.11).

Speaking on McMahon's success, National Performance Director Peter Banks stated: "A great start for Sycerika and the entire Irish team in Belgrade. This is what we were hoping for after her successes last year and congratulations to both her and her coach Bobby Madine".

McMahon, who won a bronze medal at these Championships last year, was out of the blocks with determination this morning, an indication of her intentions at this event, by qualifying in first place for the Semi-Finals of the Women's 50m Breaststroke in a time of 32.40.

In the Semi-Final she broke the Irish Junior Record and qualified fastest into the final in a time of 32.05 in a commanding performance, 0.17s ahead of her nearest rival, Russian Bazarova.

McMahon has also qualified for tomorrows (Thursday) Final of the Women's 200m Butterfly, having set a new personal best time of 2:15.22 in the Semi-Final today. This leaves her in 5th place heading into this final.

McMahon finished in 7th place after the heats of the 400m Individual Medley but opted to withdraw from this event to concentrate on her other races.

Nicholas Quinn (Castlebar SC) emerged from the heats of the Men's 200m Breaststroke, touching in a time of 2:21.07 to qualify for the Semi-Final in an event that featured four Irish swimmers. Dan Sweeny (Sunday's Well SC) was unlucky to end up as first reserve (2:21.30). Philip Duffy (St Paul's SC) set a new personal best time of 2:23.86 in the event and Peter Clarke (Limerick SC & HPC-UL) finished with a time of 2:22.26.

In a highly competitive Semi-Final, Quinn set a new personal best time of 2:19.31, just missing out on a spot in the final, finishing in 13th place. The Mayo native will take to the blocks in the heats of the 200m Individual Medley tomorrow morning.

The Irish Men's team of Conor Turner, Luke Campbell, Nicholas Quinn and Philip Duffy set a new Irish Junior Record time in the 4 x 100m Freestyle event. The time achieved was 3:35.69, leaving the team in 15th place.

Aer Lingus SC swimmer Conor Turner swam strongly in the heats of the Men's 400m Freestyle, finishing with a new personal best time of 4:04.99

Jane Roberts (Kilkenny SC) set a massive new personal best time in the heats of the 100m Freestyle, breaking the minute mark and taking almost 3 seconds off her best time to finish in 59.71. Roberts also swam well in the 200m Backstroke and finished just outside her personal best in a time of 2:23.99. Her next event is the 50m Backstroke taking place on Friday morning.

McMahon will compete tomorrow in both the 400m Freestyle, where she is ranked first, and the 200m Butterfly events. Also in action on Day two will be Bangor SC swimmer Luke Campbell in the 100m Freestyle; Nicholas Quinn and Philip Duffy in the 200m Individual Medley and Conor Turner in the 1500m Freestyle.

Heats begin at 08.00hrs (Irish time) and semi-finals/finals start at 16:00hrs on each day of competition. Full results for Irish swimmers will be issued by Swim Ireland on each day.

Full Irish Results - Day 1

• Peter Clarke (Limerick SC & HPC-UL) M200BR 2:22.26
• Philip Duffy (St Pauls SC) M200BR 2:23.86 (PB)
• Nicholas Quinn (Castlebar SC) M200BR 2:21.07 (H) 2:19.31 (SF)
• Sycerika McMahon (Leander SC) W50BR 32.40 (H) 32.05 (SF) (PB) 32.00 (F) (PB); 400IM 4:53.06; W200BF 2:15.98 (H) 2:15.22 (SF) (PB)
• Jane Roberts (Kilkenny SC) 100FR 59.71 (PB); 200BK 2:23.99
• Dan Sweeney (Sunday's Well SC) M200BR 2:21.30
• Conor Turner (Aer Lingus SC) M400FR 4:04.99

Issued by Swim Ireland, whose High Performance Programme is supported and funded by the Irish Sports Council