2024 LEINSTER AGE GROUP & SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Friday, May 3rd – Sunday, May 6th
- National Aquatic Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin
- LCM (50m)
- Results: Meet Mobile – Leinster Long Course Championships May 2024
The Irish Open Championships/Olympic Trials may not be on the calendar until the end of this month but Ellen Walshe is racing like her Paris 2024 bid is already on the line.
22-year-old Walshe busted out a new Irish national record in the women’s 400m IM while competing at the 2024 Leinster Age Group & Senior Championships in Dublin.
Walshe touched the wall in a massive time of 4:37.94. That not only represented Walshe’s first-ever performance under the 4:40 barrier but it took down the longstanding Irish standard of 4:39.18 Michelle Smith put on the books nearly 30 years ago at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Entering this competition, Walshe’s 400m IM lifetime best rested at the 4:41.30 logged during the 2023 Mare Nostrum Tour.
Flash forward to tonight, however, and she cranked out the following splits to add this Irish record to the one she already holds in the 200m IM. She ranks 15th in the world in the 400m IM.
Between her previous PB and this new record, Walshe attacked the opening 100m, knocking 2 seconds off what she posted in Barcelona. She also sliced significant time off her breast split to register the new mark.
| Walshe’s New Record – 4:37.94 | Walshe’s Previous PB – 4:41.30, 2023 |
| 1:02.51 | 1:04.62 |
| 1:13.09 | 1:13.29 |
| 1:18.03 | 1:20.35 |
| 1:04.31 | 1:03.04 |
Walshe’s outing dips under the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 4:38.53, however, she’ll need to repeat this caliber of performance at the Irish Open Championships in order to add this event to her Paris 2024 lineup.
She has already punched her Paris ticket in the 200m IM, courtesy of the 9th-place 2:10.92 time she scored at last year’s World Championships.
Ellen Walshe, you may be Irish, but you have now officially become an American hero as well. (“Silver” in Atlanta was American Alison Wagner)
Remember cheering for ‘surprise packet’ ‘underdog’ Smith back in the day. And then we found out that those suspicions were true.
Her cheating husband still holds the Dutch record in the Discus.
And good riddance! Congratulations Ellen! 🙌🏻
Interestingly the only German record still standing from GDR era is also women’s 400 IM, 4.36.10 from Petra Schneider in 1982
dang nice, its just me prob buy stg tennessee swimmers post fast times at the most random times
Ireland still recognized Michelle Smith records lol
Tell me about it. 😔
Ridiculous, isn’t it? And madness to think she became a lawyer.
Some lawyers provide services for cheaters. Maybe that’s her specialty.
Her international golds weren’t ripped by AQUA anyway.
Michelle never failed any test for any records or Olympic medals that would be why they are recognised and medals still stand. She also didn’t test positive for a banned substance, the test was contaminated with another substance.
With that being said wouldn’t it be nicer to celebrate Ellen rather than talk about the past!
Used whiskey instead of a hammer.
Haven’t heard about her since the roughest NCAAs finals double in history (400 IM 100 fly back to back)
Great to see a Michelle Smith record get wiped out.