2021 SWIM IRELAND PERFORMANCE MEET
- Thursday, June 24th – Saturday, June 26th
- National Aquatic Centre, Dublin, Ireland
- LCM (50m)
- Last-Chance Olympic Qualification Opportunity for Select Athletes
- Results: Meet Mobile
Following in Danielle Hill‘s footsteps after the Larne swimmer notched a 100m back FINA ‘A’ cut yesterday, Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe accomplished a similar feat in the women’s 200m IM today.
While competing on day 2 of the Swim Ireland Performance Meet, an Olympic Games qualifying event, 20-year-old Walshe produced a new lifetime best and 2IM Irish national record of 2:12.02. That not only demolished her own previous PB of 2:15.01 from the nation’s Trials in April, but it also surpassed the previous Irish standard of 2:13.64 set by Grainne Murphy back in 2009.
After setting her sights on the FINA ‘A’ cut with a morning swim of 2:13.17, already beating Murphy’s record, Walshe unleashed her monster PB of 2:12.02 via splits of 28.05/33.39/37.99/32.59.
Although Walshe’s time undercuts the FINA ‘A’ standard of 2:12.56 needed for Tokyo, Swim Ireland’s own selection policy for the Tokyo Games reads that athletes had to be within 1.5% of the FINA ‘A’ standard at the Olympic Trials meet in April in order to qualify for the Olympics. Swim Ireland says that Walshe’s swim ‘will be taken under consideration.’
Speaking about the swim, Walshe said, “It just hurts, but I’m delighted with it. I still can’t believe it. I was just hoping I would be out faster than this morning. I was a little bit nervous tonight. I knew I had to try and stay calm, people were saying good luck to me and it gets into me sometimes.
“But I knew I had to try to stay chill, and it obviously works when I’m calm, I just swim so much better. I just can’t thank enough everyone who has got me to this point.”
The deadline to qualify for the Olympic Games is Sunday, June 27th.
On paper it was a good strategy.
In May, use the Europeans as an exercise in getting a lot of swimmers into relays and really go for relay qualification. Getting one (and briefly) two relay teams into the Top 16 Olympic spots is pretty good for a nation of Irelands size.
So that’s a success.
The second part of the strategy …..last chances for ten individuals made sense.
BUT
effectively the strategy ruled out anyone outside the ten qualifying.
SO
why have a complete racing programme that included races in which the ten were not trying to qualify.
Indeed why not have ten time trials
Effectively this meant that nobody outside… Read more »
The relay strategy was not good, and is far from successful.
Firstly, the 4X100 MTR, everyone (especially the 4 relay swimmers) knew the Greek team had gone faster, the speed that the PR machine went into overdrive indicates that either:
1) someone didn’t know what everyone else did, or
2) they did know, but were playing for a ’17th’ sympathy place.
Secondly, the 4X200 FTR. On the surface a great achievement, 16th place in the world with a great team of 4 swimmers at Europeans. However, it is unclear at this stage if the same 4 swimmers are all eligible to travel to Tokyo as none of them they have qualified individually. As a result, the relay… Read more »
The order of events at the Olympics means that Wiffen won’t be able to swim the relay, as the 800m is directly after it. If the relay does go (unlikely in my opinion) then Ryan and Greene will be drafted in. Greene’s 200m Breastroke is the event directly before the relay too. An absolute nightmare scenario for all involved.
It’s hard to believe there’s even a question about it.
I can just see the jokes now: When is an Olympic Qualification Time not and Olympic Qualifying Time? Answer: When Swim Ireland are in charge.
Surely they have to bring her?
The overpaid High Performance Director needs to make an exception to policies to allow Ellen to go. If she swam at HP there would he no question. Makes a mockery of HP when all 3 ladies qualified are all coached by their home club coaches. Club swimming alive and well in Ireland thank you.
Rudd is letting some of the chosen swimmers who didn’t make the time to swim tonight after the meet ends .looks like rudd will do anything for his cv to look great .looks like they will be swimming all night until they get their time or until the clocks will slow down
The 1.5% rule makes sense if someone else had the spot and there is a qualifying window.
Given it will be otherwise empty, makes no sense to not take her.
She will go to Tokyo.
In simple terms, this final qualifier was a good last chance. Although ten were thought to be within reach of qualifying times, I daresay Swim Ireland would have anticipated some would make it and some wouldnt.
If they had more faith in their own swimmers it would have been simple to say, ANYONE getting a QT will be nominated.
Officials in all sports get flak…sometimes justified …from athletes.
Officials have two jobs.
1— make rules and keep rules. Ensure fair play.
2…promote the sport.
This is a clear case where promoting the sport takes precedence.
Congrats Ellen! She also broke the national record yesterday in the 100 fly! Fingers crossed they take her to Tokyo.
it would be a travesty to penalise someone for their improvement curve being too good.