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After four days of racing across two countries, the 2025 Mare Nostrum Swim Tour concluded tonight in Canet, France. This evening’s racing featured four Singapore-bound swimmers competing in the final events of the meet.

Daniel Wiffen was the first Irish swimmer in the pool this evening, competing in the 1500m Freestyle Final. Wiffen, who had already claimed gold in the 800m Freestyle and bronze in the 400m Freestyle in Barcelona, opted out of last night’s 400m Freestyle final to focus on tonight’s race.

The strategy paid off, as Wiffen delivered a standout performance in front of a packed arena in Canet. The 23-year-old led the race at the halfway mark with a split of 7:25.37, increasing his stroke rate to dominate the remainder of the race. He touched the wall in 14:54.71 to claim gold, with his closest competitor finishing in 15:01.66. The time also saw Wiffen shatter the Mare Nostrum record, held by legendary Australian swimmer Grant Hackett (15:00.58) since 2007.

Ellie McCartney continued her excellent form from the Irish Open into the Mare Nostrum, capping off an impressive week with a bronze medal in the 200m Breaststroke Final. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer clocked 2:24.55 to finish third, just 0.3 seconds behind silver. McCartney now turns her focus to the European Aquatics U23 Championships next month, followed by the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

Danielle Hill wrapped up a busy week at the Mare Nostrum with another final, this time in the 100m Backstroke. She posted a time of 1:01.50 to finish fifth. Hill leaves the meet with a collection of strong performances in preparation for Singapore, as well as gold and silver medals in the 50m Backstroke event.

Jack Cassin brought the curtain down on Ireland’s participation at the 2025 Mare Nostrum, racing in the 200m Butterfly final. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer dropped nearly three seconds from his heat swim to finish sixth with a time of 1:58.71.

Earlier today, both Lottie Cullen and Maria Godden competed in the 100m Backstroke, Cullen clocked 1:02.88, while Godden finished in 1:03.36. Brandon Biss returned to the pool for the men’s event, stopping the clock at 58.51. All three will represent Ireland at the European U23 Championships in June.

Also in action today were European Junior-bound swimmer Grace Davison, who swam 56.21 in the 100m Freestyle, and Adam Bradley, who clocked 29.24 in the 50m Freestyle. Niamh Connery impressed with a time of 2:32.05 in the 200m Breaststroke, while Bradley returned to swim 2:21.47 in the men’s event. Fellow European Junior representative Matthew Hamilton recorded a time of 24.79 in the 50m Butterfly.

Attention will now turn to June for the Sette Colli meet, which is set to feature several swimmers heading to Singapore – including Daniel Wiffen, Mona McSharry, and Ellen Walshe – as well as the European Aquatics U23 Championships in Slovakia. Both competitions will take place from 26^th to 28^th June.