Shortt Closes Winter Championships with Two New Irish Junior Records
ByEmma Porter |
John Shortt closed out the Irish Winter Championships in Dublin on Sunday with two new Irish Junior Records, taking his tally for the past four weeks to an incredible twenty-one records.
The latest records brought the total number broken by Irish swimmers across the short course (25m) season to forty-five, including thirty Irish senior records and fifteen Irish junior records.
Shortt, the European Champion (25m) in the 200m Backstroke, set his twentieth Irish Record in the 50m Freestyle, lowering his own Irish Junior Record of 21.89, set at the Munster Championships in November to 21.84.
The Galway man was then back in the pool for the 100m Individual Medley Final, winning his fifth gold and setting another junior record of 54.32.
The National Centre Limerick swimmer closes out the year with a tally of eight Irish senior and thirteen Irish junior records.
National Centre Ulster’s Cody Dunnion won 50m Freestyle silver in 22.43 while bronze went to Aer Lingus’ Alex Moore in 22.65. In the 100m Individual Medley National Centre’s Adam Colgan won silver in 56.13 and Dolphin’s Senan Harvey bronze in 56.15.
Shortt’s National Centre Limerick team-mate Danielle Farrell won the Women’s 50m Freestyle Final in 25.10, Rosalie Phelan of National Centre Ulster took second in 25.50 while Portmarnock’s Ava Jones completed the podium in 25.85
200m Butterfly European Champion (25m) and European 200m Individual Medley silver medallist Ellen Walshe closed out her season winning 100m Butterfly gold. The Templeogue swimmer has set ten Irish Records as well as winning seven World Cup medals across November and December.
Walshe won comfortably in 56.25 and was joined by National Centre Ulster’s Alana Burns-Atkin as the only other swimmer under one minute in 59.34. National Centre Limerick’s Lucy O’Brien, who set a new 50m Butterfly Irish junior record on Saturday, was third in 1:01.04.
In the Men’s 100m Butterfly Final, Jack Cassin (National Centre Limerick), who won 200m Butterfly gold on Friday, won in 51.42. Paddy Johnston (NCL) was second in 53.43 and Dylan Registe (Lisburn) third in 53.80.
Ards’ Grace Davison, a freestyle and individual medley medal winner from the 2025 European Junior Championships, had a change of event as she took gold in the 200m Backstroke in 2:06.14. National Centre Limerick’s Maria Godden was second in 2:08.17, just ahead of National Centre Ulster’s Lottie Cullen in 2:08.36.
Neddie Irwin of National Centre Limerick won the Men’s 200m Backstroke Final in 1:56.62 with team-mate Emmet Cousins second in 1:57.25 and Titan’s Artem Chobot third in 1:57.74.
Eoin Corby made it a clean sweep across the Breaststroke events, adding 50m Breaststroke gold to the 100m and 200m he had won earlier in the weekend. Corby swam a lifetime best 26.73 seconds to top the podium. Athlone’s Christian O’Brien was second in 28.01 with Dolphin’s Senan Harvey third in 28.12.
Isabel Kidney added 50m Breaststroke and 100m Individual Medley gold to the 200m Individual Medley gold she had won on Friday. The National Centre Limerick swimmer won the 50m Breaststroke in 31.37 and 100m Individual Medley in 1:01.61.
Ava Jones took silver medals in the 50m Breaststroke in 31.64 and 100m Individual Medley in 1:03.10 while UL’s Eimear Doyle won 50m Breaststroke bronze in 31.89 and Dolphin’s Lexi Dunne was the bronze medal winner in the 100m Individual Medley in 1:03.28.
In the final individual events of the Championships, the 400m Freestyle, National Centre Limerick’s Cormac Rynn cruised to victory in the men’s final clocking 3:48.07 ahead of New Ross’ Luca Power in 3:55.94 and 800m and 1500m Freestyle winner Daragh Horgan (NCL) in 3:57.32.
In a thrilling finale, that had the NAC on their feet, 13-year-old Chloe Stewart of Bangor, who also won the 400m Individual Medley, touched home first in 4:19.20, ahead of Larne’s Skye Austin-Burrows in 4:20.07 and Limerick’s Hannah O’Connor in 4:20.36.
Sundays Well and Ards took the national titles in today’s relay finals. Sundays Wells’ Caoilinn O’Connor, Isabel Kidney, Izzy McGrath and Eve Harrington combined for a time of 1:56.69 ahead of Larne in 1:58.41 and Bangor in 1:58.84. In the Men’s Finals Bangor’s quartet of Alexander Newman, Lachey Reed, Matthew Hand and Cody Dunnion won gold ahead of Ards in 1:41.36 and Lisburn in 1:42.92.
Focus for Irish swimmers now turns to the long course (50m) season with places at the European Championships (Paris), European Para Swimming Championships (TBC), Commonwealth Games (Glasgow) and European Junior Championships up for grabs at the Irish Open Championships in April.
