Jordan Sloan Fires Off 200 Free Personal Best At Irish C’ships Day 1

2017 IRISH OPEN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, April 6th – Sunday, April 9th
• National Aquatic Centre, Dublin
• LCM
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

As Irish swimmers are vying for a last chance to qualify for their nation’s World Championships roster, swift swims were seen on both the men’s and women’s side today in Dublin. The meet’s tone was set this morning, when Bangor’s Jordan Sloan fired off a new Irish national record in the men’s 200m freestyle.

Heading into the meet, Sloan’s personal best rested at the 1:49.01 he clocked at last year’s European Championships. But the 24-year-old laid waste to that mark, roaring to the wall this morning in a prelims time of 1:47.41. That surpassed the previous national record of 1:47.94 held by Ryan Harrison since 2009. Sloan was just about on par with that time tonight int he final as well, winning the gold in just a slightly slower mark of 1:47.77 to earn the 2nd best time of his career. All told, Sloan dipped beneath the World Championships qualifying mark and now checks in among the world’s top 10 times in the world in the event.

Another Irish record went down in the form of Brendan Hyland‘s gold medal in the 200m butterfly. The Tallaght swimmer scored his fastest time in 3 years, notching a mark of 1:58.08 to take his 4th national title in the event. Hyland owned the previous record in 1:58.68 from 2014.

Mona McSharry made her mark on the junior record board tonight, stopping the clock at a swift 31.34 for the victory. That took .19 off of her morning effort and shaved .15 off of the previous junior record held by Sycerika McMahon since 2011.

World Championships Qualifiers Through Day 1:

• Jordan Sloan, 200 freestyle (1:47.41)

Additional Winners on the Day:

• Ellen Walshe took the women’s 200m butterfly title, clocking a time of 2:16.43.
• The men’s 100m backstroke saw Conor Ferguson wrangle up the win in a swift mark of 54.61. That ranks as the Larne swimmer’s 4th fastest time ever, but falls short of the 54.06 needed to qualify for the World Championships.
• 18-year-old Danielle Hill won the women’s 100m backstroke in a time of 1:02.32.
• The women’s 200m freestyle saw Bethy Firth take the gold in 2:03.02.