Future Looks Bright For Irish Swimming At Irish Age Groups

Irish swimming certainly has a lot to be excited about with the performance of Junior swimmers this week at Irish Age Groups and Summer Open. Larne swimmer Conor Ferguson had a very impressive swim on Saturday in the boys 100m Backstroke. 14 year old Conor recorded the fastest time of the day in the 100m Backstroke with a 57.96. Conor didn't stop at backstroke as he stepped up for the 200 IM to take another gold medal showing that he's strong in all four strokes. Conor joins fellow 14 year olds Robbie Powell (Athlone) and Mitchell Wilson (Galway) as ones to watch for the future with the three boys seeming to be on the podium every chance they get this week. The boys will join a host of young Irish Swimming talent next week as a team of 12 swimmers head to Canada to compete in the Canadian Age Group Championships from 23rd-28th July.

In the girls 100m Freestyle it was a 1,2,3 finish for the High Performance Centre Dublin as Melanie Houghton (56.97) of Aer Lingus took the Gold Medal, followed by Lisburn's Bethany Carson (58.50) and in third place was Tallaght swimmer Clodagh Flood (58.76). Bethany who has been working hard to come back from a serious ankle injury is starting to see the awards of her recent move to living on the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown. Living so close to her support team in the National Aquatic's Centre and Irish Institute of Sport, including physiotherapist Sarah Jane McDonnell, has helped her to recover quickly and prepare for next season.

In the men's 50m breaststroke Olympian Barry Murphy (Aer Lingus SC) returned to the pool after a busy year to retain his Breaststroke sprinting title. Barry will also be heading to next month's Senior European Championships and the win will give him confidence before heading to Germany. Barry's European teammate Nicholas Quinn of Castlebar added to his 100m and 200m Breaststroke medals with a silver medal in the 50m. Taking the bronze medal for that event was Emmet Crowley of Mallow.

In the final event of the night Galway Swim Club continued their excellent swimming winning the boys 4x200m Freestyle relay as David O'Sullivan, Cian Duffy, Bryan O'Sullivan, Andrew Moore combined for a time of 7.52.67. The silver medal went to NAC Swim Team as they finished strongly in 8.07.63, while ESB took bronze in 8.15.42

Irish swimmers were also swimming outside of Ireland this week as Fiona Doyle competed in the Canadian Swimming Championships and Ethan O'Brien in the European Junior Open Water Championships in Croatia. Fiona swam in the 50m,100m and 200m Breaststroke as she warms up for next month's European Senior Championships. Fiona was delighted with her swimming as she came away with a Gold in the 100m, Silver in the 50m and a fourth place finish in the 200m. Ethan finished in an impressive 25th place in what was his first European Open Water Championships.

The Irish Age Groups and Summer Open continue tomorrow (Sunday) at the National Aquatic's Centre for the 5th and final day.