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Council Meeting 2012
February 7th 2012, Malone House
Pathway to High Performance
- a practical guide
Club Mark
- the benefits and misconceptions
SU Business Plan Update
- new developments and progress
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| Positive Start for the Irish in Turkey |
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The Irish swim team’s campaign at the LEN Short Course European Swimming Championships got off to a positive start on Thursday 10th December, with 6 new Irish records (3 Junior and 3 Senior) being established. Among the record holders was Limerick High Performance Centre swimmer Grainne Murphy who clocked a 2.14.06 in her 200m Individual Medley, finishing in 21st place overall with a new Junior record. Michael Dawson showed solid form in the 100m breaststroke, splitting a time of 28.37 for the first 50m leg (lowering his own previous Junior record) and then going on to finish in a new personal best and Irish Junior record time of 1.00.96 – knocking over 2 seconds off Andrew Bree’s previous record mark. The Men’s 4x50m medley team relay quartet of Donal O’Neill, Michael Dawson, Steven McQuillan and Conor Leaney recorded a time of 1.38.84, shaving 2 seconds off the previous Senior record which was set in 2003. O’Neill, who set the pace on the first leg (backstroke) with a new Irish Senior record (24.81) also swam the backstroke leg of the record-breaking relay back in 2003. Other Irish swims this morning came from Aisling Cooney and Melanie Nocher in the 100m backstroke; finishing in 1.00.35 and 1.00.85 respectively. Steven McQuillan had a strong performance in the 100m butterfly (54.06, new Irish Senior Record). Conor Leaney’s first race of the Championships was the 400m freestyle, in which he finished in 3.55.01. Clare Dawson (55.24), Niamh O’Sullivan (58.08), Melanie Nocher (55.66) and Aisling Cooney (56.41) raced in the 100m freestyle, completing the individual line-up for the Irish on day one. Speaking from Istanbul Peter Banks, National Performance Director and Lead Coach for the Championships commented: “Today was a good start to the 4 day meet; we had good results with 6 Irish records being set and we’re moving up the rankings. Tomorrow and over the next few days though we’ll really be looking to improve on times so that we can qualify for the semis [semi-finals] and finals, as that is our ultimate goal.” Irish Swimmers in action on Friday 11th December are: Donal O’Neill (50m backstroke), Conor Leaney and Steven McQuillan (100m freestyle), Grainne Murphy and Nuala Murphy (800m freestyle) and the Women’s 4x50m freestyle team relay. The Irish swimming squad led by Peter Banks, National Performance Director, begins its campaign at the 13th LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in Istanbul, Turkey where 10 Irish swimmers (6 men and 4 women) will be in action. The competition runs from Thursday 10th December to Sunday 13th December in the 25m indoor Abdi Ipekci Arena. The 4 day event is unique in that it will be the final major European swimming event before the FINA ban on swimsuits on 1st January 2010 and when the new FINA list of approved suits will come into effect. Eight of the squad members who competed at this summer’s World Championships will be in action in Istanbul tomorrow. Some of the squad members have already tested the waters this season at events such as the Berlin World Cup, British University & Colleges Sport Championships (BUCS) in the UK and most recently at the Irish Short Course Nationals, held at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC) three weeks ago. Commenting from Istanbul, Peter Banks said “This competition from a European perspective is going to be really interesting; there’ll be swimmers wearing old suits, new suits and of course some will be rested and some will not be. This is the time of the year when swimmers are generally in their heaviest training so to pull off some fast swims this weekend will be a great boost leading into the New Year.” Donal O’Neill, Aisling Cooney, Clare Dawson and Niamh O’Sullivan have all shown remarkable form over the past number of weeks. O’Neill swam lifetime bests in his premier events (50m and 100m backstroke) at the short course Irish Nationals. Cooney followed suit with an impressive 59.89 time in the 100m backstroke final at the NAC. Clare Dawson swam a lifetime best and new Irish Senior Record of 1.57.68 in the 200m freestyle at the BUCS and Niamh O’Sullivan also broke an Irish Senior Record last month finishing in 11th place in the 800m Freestyle (8:38.02) at the Berlin World Cup. -END-Issued by Swim Ireland, whose High Performance Programme is supported and funded by the Irish Sports Council] Media Contact:Chantal Gibney, Swim IrelandPh: +353 86 3817933Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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