2016 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 7
- Monday, May 16th – Sunday, May 22nd
- Prelims: 10:00 AM (London Time) / 5:00 AM (Eastern Time)
- Finals: 6:00 PM (London Time) / 1:00 PM (Eastern Time)
- London Aquatics Center, London, UK
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
- Live Stream
The Irish men broke the national record in the 400 medley relay in both prelims and finals at the European Championships to ultimately place 7th overall, capping a successful competition for the country.
First the prelim quartet of Shane Ryan, Nicholas Quinn, Brendan Hyland and Curtis Coulter clocked 3:38.40 in the prelims to qualify 7th overall, taking out the previous record by well over a second of 3:39.87 set by the Irish team at the 2009 World Championships during the suit era. The swimmers came back for finals and took the record by nearly another second in 3:37.47, placing 7th once again.
Here’s a look at the splits from their races in prelims and finals, and the former record holders from 2009:
2009 World Championships: 3:39.87 (24th, Prelims)
- Karl Burdis, 54.44
- Barry Murphy, 1:00.92
- Conor Leaney, 54.93
- Ryan Harrison, 49.58
2016 European Championships: 3:38.40 (7th, Prelims)
- Shane Ryan, 54.63
- Nicholas Quinn, 1:01.33
- Brendan Hyland, 53.45
- Curtis Coulter, 48.99
2016 European Championships: 3:37.47 (7th, Final)
- Shane Ryan, 54.37
- Nicholas Quinn, 1:01.01
- Brendan Hyland, 53.35
- Curtis Coulter, 48.74
The backstroke and breaststroke legs were both very similar to the old record, but the real gain was made on the butterfly leg. Brendan Hyland split about a second and a half faster than Conor Leaney did back in 2009. Curtis Coulter also gained about half a second on the freestyle. In the final all four members improved their splits taking the record down another 0.93.
This swim was the 5th final for Ireland of the week, along with seven appearances in the semi-finals. Their best finish was female breaststroker Fiona Doyle‘s 4th place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
Swim Ireland National Performance Director Peter Banks was very impressed with the swimmers performance throughout the week, stating:
“What a great team effort from the whole squad. Although we did not get any more qualifiers for Rio, the squad led by Fiona Doyle, Shane Ryan and Nicholas Quinn as future Olympians showed great leadership in making semis and finals along with a great 4x100m Medley Relay. We featured in every evening finals session and the athletes that are part of this squad will all be part of some great future Irish teams. The future looks really bright for the next four years and beyond”