Ellen Walshe, Evan Bailey and John Shortt got the 2025 Irish Open Swimming Championships underway in Dublin on Saturday morning with records falling on four occasions including three Championship and an Irish Junior record, while eight swimmers secured consideration times for international events this Summer.
Walshe, competing in the 200m Individual Medley and 200m Butterfly, clocked Championship Records in both events of 2:11.14 and 2:08.66. The Paris Finalists time in the 200m IM solidified her qualification for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July and was just outside her Irish record of 2:10.92. In the 200m Butterfly, Walshe clocked another new Championship Record and a World Aquatics A time, her second fastest time ever in the event, having set the current Irish Record of 2:08.42 just last month. The Templeogue swimmer is currently ranked seventh in the world in both events.
Evan Bailey was impressive in the 200m Freestyle, topping the rankings in a personal best and new Championship Record of 1:47.08. The National Centre Limerick swimmer, who was just half a second outside the Irish record, secured consideration times for the World University Games and European Aquatics U23 Championships. Second ranked Cormac Rynn touched in 1:49.36, a consideration time for the European Aquatics U23 Championships.
In the 100m Backstroke heats, John Shortt set a new Irish Junior Record of 54.25, knocking .13 off Conor Ferguson’s 2018 time of 54.38. With the time, the 2024 European Junior Champion secures consideration for the European Aquatics Junior Championships. The 18-year-old will be the top seed for this evening’s semi-finals.
There were further consideration times for international events in the 200m Individual Medley, with Paris Olympian and 2024 European Junior bronze medallist Grace Davison inside the 2025 European Juniors time in 2:17.30, while National Centre Limerick’s Ellie McCartney secured consideration for both the World University Games and European Aquatics U23 Championships in 2:15.10.
Nathan Wiffen will be the top seed for Sunday evening’s Men’s 800m Final having won the first heat in 8:02.00 ahead of Daragh Horgan (8:24.38). Olympic Champion Daniel Wiffen won the second heat in 8:29.46.
In the Women’s 1500m Freestyle Heats Sunday’s Wells’ Clare Custer topped the rankings and secured the centre lane for Sunday’s Final in 17:16.39, also securing a consideration for the European Aquatics Junior Championships.
Paris Olympian Danielle Hill is the top seed in the female 100m Backstroke having clocked 1:01.57 ahead of Maria Godden (1:02.62) and Lottie Cullen (1:02.88). Cullen, of National Centre Ulster, secured her consideration for the European Aquatics U23 Championships.
Saturday evening will see female and open multi-class (para) Finals and female and open semi-finals in the 100m Backstroke, female 200m Individual Semi-Finals, Male 200m Freestyle Semi-Finals and Female 200m Butterfly Semi-Finals.
John Shortt was the star of the opening night of Finals at the Irish Open Championships in Dublin with the 18-year-old securing a qualification time for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, while Danielle Hill also cemented her qualification for the July Championships.
Swimming in the second 100m Backstroke semi-final, Shortt, who had set a new Irish Junior Record of 54.25 in this morning’s heats, swam a blistering 53.90 for another junior record and a spot in Singapore. The European Junior 200m Backstroke Champion and 100m silver medallist, who is also qualified for this Summer’s European Aquatics Junior Championships, is now just .17 outside of Shane Ryan’s Irish Senior Record of 53.73 and will have another go at it in Sunday’s Final.
Speaking after the race the National Centre Limerick swimmer said, “I’m more surprised is the biggest word I would use, because 100 back wouldn’t really be my thing, my focus for the year would be the 200m. So to be 53 there I’m more surprised than anything else and just delighted as well, because trials last year was a different story on that sort of pressure, so to come into this trials was kind of not no pressure, but just to actually be able to enjoy it and enjoy what I do is the biggest thing that I took away from last year. So, I’m just really happy.”
Having secured a qualification time for Singapore at the Olympic Games in Paris, Danielle Hill solidified her place with a time of 1:00.67 in the Female 100m Backstroke Semi-Finals and will be the top seed for Sunday’s Final. In second and third place both Lottie Cullen (1:01.78) and Maria Godden (1:01.89) were under the qualification time for the European Aquatics U23 Championships
Evan Bailey broke one minute 48 seconds in the 200m Freestyle for the second time on Saturday evening, clocking 1:47.26 to lead the qualifiers for Sunday’s Final. Bailey’s National Centre Limerick team-mate Cormac Rynn was the only other swimmer under 1:50 in 1:49.88. Bailey and Rynn were once again under the consideration time for European Aquatics U23 Championships with third place Jack Cassin also achieving the time in 1:50.28.
Having gotten her job done with World Aquatics Championships qualification times secured in the 200m Individual Medley and 200m Butterfly on Saturday morning Ellen Walshe withdrew from the semi-finals of both events and will be back in action in the 100m Butterfly heats on Monday morning. In her absence, Ards’ Paris Olympian Grace Davison, who secured European Aquatics Junior Championships qualification in the heats, leads the qualifiers for Sunday’s 200m Individual Medley Final in 2:15.82, while National Centre Ulster’s Alana Burns-Atkin locked in the centre lane for the 200m Butterfly Final in 2:18.05.
Sunday morning will see Mona McSharry return to race in Ireland for the first time since the European U23 Championships in 2023, the Olympic bronze medallist competes in the 100m Breaststroke. Olympic semi-finalist Tom Fannon will swim the 50m Freestyle. As well as the Female 100m Breaststroke and Open 50m Freestyle heats, swimmers will compete in the Open 100m Breaststroke, Female 100m Freestyle and Female 100m Butterfly.
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