2023 IRISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Saturday, April 1st – Wednesday, April 5th
- Sport Ireland National Aquatic Center, Dublin, Ireland
- LCM (50m)
- World Championships Qualifier
- World Championships Selection Criteria
- SwimSwam Preview
- Day 1 Recap/Day 2 Recap/Day 3 Recap/Day 4 Recap/Day 5 Recap
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
The 2023 Irish Open Championships concluded from Dublin this week with multiple swimmers having notched World Championships qualifying times throughout the competition.
By the time all was done and dusted, the nation saw 7 senior national records, 5 junior national records and 11 championship records fall.
Although we’re waiting on the official roster for Fukuok to be announced by Swim Ireland, below are the swimmers who met the minimum time standards in their respective events.
- Ellen Walshe – 100m fly, 200m IM
- Daniel Wiffen* preselected
- Mona McSharry – 100m breast, 200m breast
- Conor Ferguson – 100m back
- Tom Fannon – 50m free
- Danielle Hill – 100m back
- John Shortt – 200m back consideration time
Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd said, “This Championships was a huge step forwards for the Irish swimming community as a whole, particularly when we compare it to the post-COVID equivalent in 2022.
“Seven athletes put their names into contention for individual events at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this summer and that is before we consider what relays we opt to compete in. Fukuoka is the first major step for us towards the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 – the first of three qualification opportunities for our athletes.
“Alongside this, we have over 20 additional athletes make themselves known for our junior, youth and open water teams this summer. That’s a highly significant number of selections for us to consider – with 7 Irish Senior Records and 5 Irish Junior Records thrown into the mix for good measure.
“I’m very proud of Irish swimming today, with selection considerations coming from all four of our Provinces. With 100 days to go until Fukuoka commences, I’ll be honoured as always to lead our senior National Team into what could be a very rewarding World Championships for Ireland”.
Some BIG Q’s gotta be asked. What’s being delivered from the ‘Centres’ and the expense & resources ploughed in to them.
McSharry, Wiffen & Ferguson are overseas, with Wiffen and Ferguson having left the National Centres after seeing what’s available. Hill & Walshe are both based in Club programs. Fannon, has jumped from UK, but to be fair has made a marginal improvement, as he was a 22. Commonwealth finalist level in 2018 as a 19/20yo so continuing to progress as he matures. Shortt is a very talented teen, training PT in a Centre, but a very capable kid under good guidance from Szaranek.
The Limerick Centre is the only potential positive here having placed athletes on the broader international… Read more »
I think you’re missing the point. The PB % for the Bangor centre was excellent. Maybe it’s not the centres to blame but the staffing?
There will always be a draw for athletes to move to the NCAA. It’s fun. Seems silly to blame those decisions on poor centres.
Also important to look at which athletes are actually in the centres and judge the results with a dose of realism. How many of those swimmers can actually make A cuts? Maybe the problem is too many centres and/or too low standards? Maybe judge them based on improvement of the athletes there, not which teams they make.
The answers are unclear but it’s insane to blame the centres themselves. Ireland is… Read more »
‘There will always be a draw for athletes to move to the NCAA. It’s fun’
– but thats far from all of the swimmers qualified, the rest are club based, or UK based, with 2 from centres.
They aren’t going overseas because it’s ‘fun’, they are going because thats where their needs are best met, and where they have best opportunity to improve. Is Shortt going to stay in his centre if he gets an opportunity from a UK or US college?, highly unlikely.
‘Also important to look at which athletes are actually in the centres and judge the results with a dose of realism.’
– absolutely correct, but the starting point for that conversation is to… Read more »
Does “overseas” critic understand the environment?
Why are there average athletes in the centre?
The best athletes would rather not work with the current Irish administration.
Very hard to argue with your assessment, the evidence is literally at the top of this story with the list of names qualified.
However, I would call out the potential damage of the Relay strategy a lot more, how many of the qualified individuals above will have their individual competition program curtailed over next few months to follow the relay strategy? How many will be stopped from entering their best events at major tournaments, to instead try qualify a relay that will not be comptetive?
How many individual events will be skipped to suit a strategy, that last time round ended up with those swimmers who got the qualification (4 X 200 mens FTR), then being told they can’t… Read more »
It The Rudd effect in full flow. Athletes, when given the choice, staying at home programs or moving overseas. A limited few elect to move to the centres.
The solution? Impact directly on an athletes education unless the move to the centre. Swim Ulster have now an agreement in place that will stop talented swimmers from recieving much needed financial support thru university sports scholarships unless they leave the club they belong to, the coach they work with and have built a relationship over years with, and move to their centre.
I am all for athletes having the freedom to move to a centre if that is their wish but to take advantage of a situation and threaten… Read more »