SWIMMING National Long Course Swimming Championships – Day 3 Update

The final of the 100m freestyle kicked off day three of the Long Course National Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin today. Missing from the blue ribbon event line-up was Tennessee-based Barry Murphy, who was focused on the 100m breaststroke instead. Murphy led the Men’s 100m breaststroke final from start to finish, touching the wall in 1.02.70 – first man home but not enough to get him to the European Championships this summer, missing out on the qualification standard by .23 seconds. Murphy swims in the 50m freestyle tomorrow.

Irish record holder and member of Swim Ireland’s National Aquatic High Performance Centre squad, Fiona Doyle took the title of the Women’s 100m breaststroke final by 3 hundredths of a second, beating 20-year old Olympian Hannah Miley (1.11.92) and NCSA All Star Sarah Haase (1.12.19). Fiona’s time of 1.11.89 was one second outside her all time best and Irish record.

The 400m freestyle, a strong event for Ireland’s top distance women featured Limerick High Performance centre teammates Niamh O’Sullivan and Nuala Murphy as well as Bangor’s Clare Dawson who was not long out of the water after taking gold in the 100m freestyle, and Leander star Sycerika McMahon. Dawson (4.17.86) won the Irish title, behind 19-year old Megan Gilchrist from the UK (4.13.31) who won the event.

Grainne Murphy who has already achieved her European Championship qualifying cut earlier this year and who is recently home from competing in the French Nationals, made a brief appearance today– this time not in one of her main events but in the 200m backstroke. The event was won by Hannah Miley in 2.16.12. Murphy claimed the Irish title in 2.18.71 just over a second slower than her heat swim this morning.

Other National titles today went to Conor Leaney (Men’s100m freestyle), Clare Dawson (Women’s 100m freestyle), Andrew Meegan (Men’s 400m freestyle), Aisling Cooney (Women’s 50m backstroke), Colm Dowling (Men’s 50m backstroke) and Niall Wynne (Men’s 200m backstroke).

The Long Course National Swimming Championships resumes tomorrow, with the heats starting at 9.00. The Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Emer Costelloe will be in attendance.

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