European Junior Swimming Championships Preview

A 13 strong Irish swimming team will begin competition tomorrow, Wednesday, at the European Junior Swimming Championships in the Olympic Swimming Pool Wezenberg in Antwerp, Belgium. The team, led by John Duffy as head coach and assisted by Paul Donovan and Sebastian Locteau, will compete from the 4th - 8th July.

486 swimmers (262 in the men's events and 224 in the women's) from 43 of the 51 European Member Federations will compete. The Championships will see 1,379 individual and 97 relay starts in a total of 40 swimming events. Germany and Italy, both with 33 competitors, have entered the largest teams. Eligible age groups are 17‐18 for men (born 1994‐1995) and 15‐16 for women (born 1996‐1997).

Speaking before the event Swim Ireland High Performance Director Peter Banks said "This is the largest team travelling to European Juniors in the last 4 years, they are a young team and we are hopeful for a number of top 16 and top 8 performances over the 5 days".

The team are: Jane Roberts (Kilkenny SC), Sarah Kelly (Comans SC), Clodagh Flood (Tallaght SC), Conor Turner (Aer Lingus SC), Brendan Hyland (Tallaght SC), Brendan Gibbons (Athlone SC), David O'Sullivan (Galway SC), Curtis Coulter (Ards SC), Brian O'Sullivan (NAC SC), Brian O'Sullivan (Leander SC), Sean O'Brien (Aer Lingus SC), Cian Duffy(Galway SC) and David Prendergast (Kilkenny SC). All Irish competitors are members of Swim Ireland's National Youth Development Squad.

First up tomorrow are:

• 50m Butterfly (Curtis Coulter, Brendan Hyland, David O'Sullivan)
• 400m Freestyle (Brendan Gibbons, Conor Turner)
• 200m Butterfly (Clodagh Flood, Sarah Kelly)
• 100m Backstroke (Cian Duffy, Brian O'Sullivan (NAC), David Prendergast)
• 200m Backstroke (Jane Roberts)
• 4x100m Freestyle Men's Relay (Ireland)

In 2011, London 2012 Olympic Games qualifier Sycerika McMahon won 2 Gold and a Silver medal at the European Junior Championships, the last stepping stone for swimmers before Senior International Competition.