Irish Swimming has announced its largest World Championships squad since 2009 set to head to Hungary this summer. Seven athletes, including 2016 Olympians Shane Ryan, Nicholas Quinn and diver Oliver Dingley are set to compete in Budapest.
Along with individual events, Ryan, a 100m backstroke semi-finalist at last year’s Olympic Games, will join breaststroker Quinn, freestyle national record holder Jordan Sloan and butterflyer Brendan Hyland to comprise the Irish 4x100m medley relay in Budapest. Sloan in particular made a big splash last April at the Irish Open Swimming Championships, collecting national titles across the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events. He set national records in the 100m and 200m distances in the process.
Two athletes in the form of Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson were selected for both the senior and World Junior Championships. 17-year-old Ferguson made history in April by becoming the first Irish man to swim under 2:00 in the 200 back, winning the national title in a time of 1:58.80. 16-year-old McSharry swept the Breaststroke events winning the 50m, 100m and 200m, all in Irish Junior Records.
Speaking at the announcement, Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd said “It’s very exciting for us to be able to select what is a relatively large World Championships team for Ireland, a blend of international experience in the likes of Shane and Nicholas and exciting young talent in Mona and Conor. To travel with a great group of individuals plus a relay into one of the World’s biggest events is a great start for us in our quest for success in Tokyo and we will of course also look forward to seeing Oliver compete off the boards after such a successful outing in Rio”.
FINA World Diving & Swimming Championships, 15th – 30th July, Budapest, Hungary
Swimming
Athlete Club Home Coach
Jordan Sloan Bangor Paul Dennis
Shane Ryan NAC Tim Murphy
Nicholas Quinn Castlebar Chris Jones
Mona McSharry Marlins Grace Meade
Conor Ferguson Bangor Alan Bircher
Brendan Hyland National Centre (Dublin) & Tallaght Dave Malone
Diving
Athlete Club Home Coach
Oliver Dingley Shamrock Diving Club Damian Ball
Team Staff
Team Leader Jon Rudd
Head Coach (Swimming) National Head Coach (TBC)
Head Coach (Diving) Damian Ball
Assistant Coach (Swimming) Grace Meade
World University Games, 20th – 27th August, Taipei, Chinese Taipei
Swimming
Athlete Club Home Coach
Shane Ryan Penn State University Tim Murphy
Nicholas Quinn University of Edinburgh Chris Jones
Jordan Sloan University of Ulster, Jordanstown Paul Dennis
Brendan Hyland Dublin City University Dave Malone
Rory McEvoy University of Limerick Lars Humer
Conor Brines Queens University Belfast Peter Hill
Darragh Greene University College Dublin Earl McCarthy
David Prendergast University College Dublin Earl McCarthy
Calum Bain University of Stirling Bradley Hay
Curtis Coulter Queens University Belfast Nelson Lindsay
Diving
Athlete Club Home Coach
Jack Ffrench Maynooth University Damian Ball
Natasha MacManus Princeton University Drew Livingstone
Team Staff
Head Coach (Swimming) Lars Humer
Head Coach (Diving) Damian Ball
Assistant Coach (Swimming) Paul Dennis
LEN European Diving Championships, 11th – 18th June, Kiev, Ukraine
Athlete Club Home Coach
Jack Ffrench Shamrock Diving Club Damian Ball
Oliver Dingley Shamrock Diving Club Damian Ball
Team Staff
Head Coach Damian Ball
Head Coach TBC, is there an interview process ongoing?