Cracking Swimming from Lakelanders in Craigavon!
02 Oct 2022
Photo credit: Mary Ann Salcedo
On Saturday 1st October 18 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club made their way to the beautiful facilities at the South Lakes Leisure Centre in Craigavon for the first of Swim Ulster’s Future Challengers’ Series of Galas.
This was the younger Lakelanders’ first swimming competition of the season and they relished the opportunity, returning with great memories and a slew of new personal best swims (PBs).
Ryan Aiken (13) attending his 1st competition, achieved a massive 28 sec PB in the 100m Freestyle, placing him 2nd in his age group. He followed this with a great swim in the 100m Breaststroke event placing 6th in his age group.
Twin brother Rory Aiken (13) swam a great swim in the 100m Freestyle coming away with a fantastic 25 second PB and placed 3rd in his age. Another good swim for Rory in 100m Breaststroke, placing 4th overall in his age group in this race.
Hannah Beacom (14) came 3rd in the 100m Freestyle and 5th in the 100m Breaststroke event.
Josh Cassidy (12) was delighted to drop 25 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley PB, 16 seconds off his 200m Freestyle PB and another 16 seconds off his 100m Breaststroke time.
Darragh Collins (11) started this season with two strong swims. He was delighted with achieving 2nd place in the 50m Freestyle picking up a 3.83 second PB. In his favoured Breaststroke, Darragh knocked an impressive 10.65 seconds off his PB in the 100m event, placing in the top 5.
Luke Lannon (12) had a great start to the competitive short course season. Strong swims ensured he finished top 5 in the 100m Freestyle and top 4 in the 100m Breaststroke. The highlight for Luke was a 15second PB of 1:30.43 in the 100m Individual Medley, finishing 4th overall.
Myleene Leonard (11) came away with a 5 second PB in the 100m Breaststroke, another new PB in the 100m Individual Medley event and a top 5 place in the 50m Freestyle race.
Mirko Mann (11) shaved 15 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley PB placing 4th, he went one to knock 9 seconds off his 100m Freestyle PB and went on to touch the wall in 2nd place in the 100m Breaststroke with another 9second PB.
Holly McCabe (11) knocked 16 seconds off her 100m Freestyle time in addition to swimming a great 100m Individual Medley.
Martha McCreesh (11) took 2 seconds off her 100m Individual Medley PB and a massive 14 seconds off her 100m Freestyle time.
Russell Mikiewicz Lumayad (12) took part in 3 races and achieved two personal bests. In his favourite 50m Freestyle event he came 1st in his heat and took 4th place overall. Next he dropped 6 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley PB. He also enjoyed swimming 100m Breaststroke, gaining great experience for future galas.
Ryan Mongan (12) was delighted to wipe 34 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley PB. He also achieved PBs and top 10 finishes in the 100m Freestyle and 100m Breaststroke events.
Ava Neal (12) performed extremely well in each of her 3 events. She secured a 32 second PB in the 100 Individual Medley and a top ten finish . Ava swam a strong and consistent 100m Breaststroke again securing a PB and top ten finish. Ava has been working hard on her Freestyle and was rewarded with another PB and a 4th place finish.
Tori Reid (12) finished 6th in the 50m Freestyle, picking up a PB. She then knocked 9 seconds off her 100m Breaststroke time.
Erin Salcedo (12) took 2 seconds off her 100m Individual Medley PB, 5 seconds off her 100m Freestyle PB and gained another PB in the 100m Breaststroke event.
Younger sister Keira Salcedo (10) placed 4th in the 100m Individual Medley race, wiping a fabulous 12 seconds off her PB. She went on to swim a great 50m Freestyle, touching the wall in 7th place.
Emma Speer (11) had a great afternoon, first she gained a PB and a 4th place finish in the 100m Individual Medley. Emma’s next race was 50m Freestyle where again she PB’d and finished second. In Emma’s favoured 100m Breaststroke, she swam a well executed race and was again rewarded with a PB and a second place finish.
Older sister Sarah Speer (13) had a very worthwhile afternoon achieving PBs in her two events. First up was 200m Individual Medley, where she improved her time by a fantastic 6 seconds and finished second. Sarah then competed in 100m Breaststroke and again finished second with a PB.
Overall, the event was a very encouraging start to the season for the younger Lakelander swimmers, a testament to their dedication to their training and the hard work of the coaching team led by Head Coach Ben Wiffen. Club Chairperson and one of the Team Managers on the day Aideen Speer, hailed the success of the swimmers saying ‘this was a great opener to our 22/23 season for our younger swimmers with results that clearly demonstrate their efforts in training. I’m looking forward to great things from this group this year!’
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A squad of 33 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended the Swim Belfast Open Meet on Sunday the 15th of February in Lagan Valley Leisureplex, Lisburn. The gala was a great success for the Fermanagh swimmers who relished the opportunity to compete against swimmers from clubs across Ulster, Leinster & Connacht, returned home with numerous medals and personal best times. - 12 Feb 2026Past & Present Lakelanders lead the way for Fermanagh at Swim Ulster’s Senior Sc
Local Swimmers Sparkle for their Schools as Past & Present Lakelanders lead the way for Fermanagh at Swim Ulster’s Senior Schools’ Cup & Championships in Bangor
The Swim Ulster Schools Cup & Championships 2026 took place on Friday 6th February at Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex Bangor. Over 1000 swimmers from more than 130 schools across the province of Ulster took part in the one day event. Three local schools were part of the action with 22 local swimmers taking part. - 01 Feb 2026Young Lakelanders Swim to Success in Belfast
On Saturday 31st January, 13 young swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club competed in Round 3 of the Swim Ulster Future Challengers Series at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre, Belfast. The meet attracted over 450 swimmers aged 10–14 from across Ulster, all taking on the more challenging events of Individual Medley (IM), Backstroke and Butterfly.
The Lakelanders squad rose to the occasion, relishing the opportunity to race against strong provincial competition while aiming for personal best performances. - 26 Jan 2026Lakelanders Secure Medals & PBs at Swim Ulster Open Meet in Bangor
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers competed at Swim Ulster’s Open Long Course Meet at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex in Bangor on the 24 & 25th January. Swimmers from clubs all over Ireland attended this exciting start to the Long Course season and the Lakelanders were eager to race their fellow athletes in the fabulous 10 lane 50m pool at the Aurora. - 07 Dec 2025Lakelanders’ future challengers deliver strong swims in Omagh
A strong squad of Lakelanders junior swimmers took part in Swim Ulster Future Challengers Meet 2 at Omagh Leisure Centre on Saturday.
Coach Chelsey Weir was there to support the young swimmers who brought home a substantial haul of medal award pins and a raft of new personal times. - 07 Dec 2025Success for Lakelanders at Sliabh Beagh Winter Gala
6 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers made the journey to the Coral Leisure Centre Monaghan for Sliabh Beagh Swimming Club’s Winter Cluster Meet on 6th & 7th December. - 30 Nov 2025Lakelanders Swimmers Shine for their schools at Ulster Schools Championships
Swim Ulster Primary Schools Cup and Championship was held at the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, Bangor on Saturday 29th November 2025. Excited for this opportunity to represent their schools, 22 swimmers across 10 local schools headed to Bangor determined to do the South-West proud and qualify for the All-Ireland Championships held in Dublin in March. Although a school competition, all the students attending are committed members of the Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club and mustered all their skills and training in competing against the best swimmers from schools across Ulster. A successful day saw 4 podium finishes and an amazing number of swimmers qualify for the All-Ireland primary school championship to be held at the National Aquatic Centre Dublin next year. - 10 Nov 2025Lakelanders push for top performances at Dungannon’s 40th Anniversary Gala
A squad of 10 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers attended Dungannon Swimming Club’s 40th Anniversary Gala on Sunday the 9th November at Dungannon Leisure Centre. The gala was a great success for the young swimmers who returned home with numerous personal bests. - 27 Oct 2025Lakelanders Host First Home Gala in Omagh
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All the work so far on skills and technique resulted in a slew of Swim Ulster Awards, personal bests and many top ten finishes for the Enniskillen Lakelanders.
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