National Champions Mona McSharry and Conor Ferguson will lead two strong Ireland teams announced today for both the European and the World Junior Swimming Championships this summer.
This past weekend at the Irish Open Championships at the National Aquatic Centre McSharry (16) swept the Breaststroke events winning the 50m, 100m and 200m, all in Irish Junior Records while Ferguson (17) completed a Backstroke hat trick winning the 50m, 100m and 200m events; he set an Irish senior record in the 200m and an Irish Junior record in the 50m. Both athletes also went under the consideration time for the senior World Championships in July.
Ellen Walshe (Templeogue) will join McSharry and Ferguson for the World Juniors after a 200m Butterfly win at the Open Championships. Niamh Coyne (National Centre Dublin & Tallaght) placed second to McSharry in the 100m Breaststroke while Jack McMillan (Bangor) went under consideration times for both meets when he finished in the silver medal position of the 200m Freestyle behind new Irish Senior record holder Jordan Sloan.
All five selected for the World Junior Championships will also compete at the European Junior Championships. They will be joined by Rachel Bethel of Lisburn who won four titles at last weekend’s Championships including the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle and Shannon Russell (Lurgan) who won both the 200m and 400m Individual Medley. Robbie Powell (Athlone) and Rebecca Reid (Ards) complete the nine-strong team that will represent Ireland in Israel in June.
Commenting on today’s selections National Performance Director Jon Rudd said, “We are very excited to announce our athletes for these two key junior competitions. Following a highly successful Irish Open Championships last week, it was clear that our coaches and our athletes have embraced the concept of ‘right performance-right time’ and that we have a body of talent here that is truly capable of challenging on a continental and world stage. These are focused teams and these athletes display many of the attributes that you would expect and want at this level, with some of them potentially featuring in our World Championships team when we announce it later this month. Watch this space. Irish swimming is on the move”
Team Selections
European Junior Swimming Championships, 28th June – 2nd July 2017, Netanya, Israel
| Name | Programme | Coach |
| Bethel, Rachel | Lisburn | Martin McGann |
| Coyne, Niamh | National Centre (Dublin) Tallaght | Dave Malone |
| Ferguson, Conor | Bangor | Alan Bircher |
| McMillan, Jack | Bangor | Paul Dennis |
| McSharry, Mona | Ballyshannon Marlins | Grace Meade |
| Powell, Robert | Athlone | Johnny Powell |
| Reid, Rebecca | Ards | Nelson Lindsay |
| Russell, Shannon | Lurgan | Cecil Russell |
| Walshe, Ellen | Templeogue | Brian Sweeney |
World Junior Swimming Championships, 23rd – 28th August, Indianapolis, USA
| Name | Programme | Coach |
| Coyne, Niamh | National Centre (Dublin) Tallaght | Dave Malone |
| Ferguson, Conor | Bangor | Alan Bircher |
| McMillan, Jack | Bangor | Paul Dennis |
| McSharry, Mona | Marlins | Grace Meade |
| Walshe, Ellen | Templeogue | Brian Sweeney |
News courtesy of Swim Ireland.
Dark horses – McSharry and Ferguson have a real chance of medaling for the first time for Ireland!
Great to see such a talented group coming through! Good luck ☘️