Cork swimmers delivered standout performances at the Irish Open Championships

Several Cork swimmers delivered standout performances at the Irish Open Championships, held at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC) in Dublin recently. 

The event, served as both the premier meet on the Swim Ireland calendar and trials for World and European competitions. 

It featured Ireland's top Olympians and international stars, including Portuguese World Butterfly Champion, Diogo Ribeiro. 

The meet followed an Olympic format with preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals, offering Championship and Junior finals in all events, and 'B' finals for the 50m form strokes.

While last week's coverage highlighted the European Junior qualifiers, Phelim Hanley, Thomas Bugler, and Tadgh O'Brien, this week we turn our attention to the remarkable performances of other Cork swimmers who made significant strides at the Championships. 

In an event marked by intense competition, it was immensely gratifying for many to find themselves in the Call Rooms, preparing to compete alongside their swimming heroes. 

To qualify for semi-finals and finals amongst such strong competition, is hugely rewarding for them, their coaches and families.

Dolphin Swimming Club's Ricky Fane demonstrated exceptional versatility, qualifying for six finals over the five-day meet. He secured victory in the Junior final of the 100m Breaststroke and achieved third place among juniors in the Championship final of the same event. 

Ricky also attained sixth-place finishes in the Championship finals of both the 200m Individual Medley and 200m Breaststroke, ranking as the second-best junior in the former. 

His sprint capabilities were evident with a third-place finish in the 50m Freestyle 'B' final and sixth in the 50m Breaststroke 'B' final.

His sister, Heather Fane, delivered strong performances, finishing fourth in the Championship final of the 200m Butterfly and tenth in the 100m Butterfly final. She added a second place finish in the 50m Butterfly 'B' final to her accolades.

Another to shine for the Mayfield club was Lexi Dunne. a promising young talent, who secured a ninth place overall finish in the Championship final of the 100m Freestyle. 

Her time of 58.49 ranked her as the top Junior in the event. She posted a time of 1:04.43 in the semi-final of the 100m Butterfly but opted to focus on the 200m Freestyle, where she finished second in the Junior final, ranking fifth among juniors overall.

Neddie Irwin, training under John Szaranek at the Performance Centre in Limerick, earned a silver medal in the Championship final of the 200m Backstroke. 

His Dolphin teammate, Ben Merrigan, ed him in the final, finishing ninth, and also secured third place in the 50m Backstroke 'B' final. James McIlroy added to Cork's achievements with a fifth-place finish in the Junior 200m Backstroke final. 

He bounced back on the final evening with an impressive 26.40 to take the Irish Title at 50m Backstroke.

Another Dolphin swimmer who trains at the Performance Centre in Limerick, Charlie Cassidy showed great promise through the 200m freestyle rounds, only to suffer the heartbreak of a technical fault which ruled him out of the Championship final.

Dolphin's female swimmers made notable contributions in backstroke events, with fourth and eighth-place finishes in the 200m and 100m Junior finals, respectively for Shauna Murphy. 

Ellen Lee claimed second place in the 50m Backstroke 'B' final.

Isabel Kidney of SWSC delivered her best performance on the final evening, securing second place in the Championship final of the 50m Breaststroke. She also achieved a fifth-place finish in the 200m Individual Medley Championship final.

Backstroke specialist Antonia Sech, returning from college in the United States, placed tenth in the 200m Backstroke Championship final, second in the 100m Junior final, and third in the 50m Backstroke 'B' final.

Alex Barrett qualified for three finals, with his best result being a seventh-place finish in the 200m Butterfly Championship final. 

He also competed in the 400m Freestyle Championship final, finishing tenth alongside the Wiffen twins who claimed the top two places. He placed eighth in the 100m Freestyle Junior final.

Izzy McGrath reached two Championship finals, securing seventh place in the 50m Butterfly and tenth in the 50m Backstroke. 

Pierce Hanley earned a silver medal in the 200m Breaststroke Junior final, while Virag Szatmari won the 50m Breaststroke 'B' final.

As the Irish Open Championships came to a close in Dublin, they highlighted the depth of emerging talent, particularly among the junior athletes, within Cork's swimming community. 

We can now look forward to following the International debut for Phelim Hanley and Thomas Bugler, while Tadgh O’Brien will make a return to the European Junior Open Water Championships.