Cracking Swimming in Craigavon!
08 Oct 2023
Cracking Swimming from Lakelanders in Craigavon!
On Sunday 8th October 17 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 several medals and a slew of new personal best swims (PBs).
Charles Armstrong (11) swam a strong 100m Individual Medley, picked up a fabulous 8 second PB in the 50m Backstroke and produced another great performance in the 50m Butterfly
Holly Barkley (12) had a great day, shaving 5 seconds off her 100m Individual Medley seed time.
Daire Burke (11) was delighted to see he had taken 7 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley time, as well as place 5th in the 50m Backstroke and had another great swim in the 50m Butterfly.
Michael Carron (10) hit the wall in the silver spot with a PB in the 100m Individual Medley, secured another silver position and PB in the 50m Backstroke before going for gold in the 50m Butterfly with an amazing 13 second PB.
Josh Cassidy (13) produced strong performances picking up PBs in both 100m Individual Medley and 50m Backstroke.
Darragh Collins (12) kickstarted the new season in style, placing second in his age group in the 100m Individual Medley, sealed with a 9.25 second PB. Another strong swim in the 100m Backstroke placed him fifth with a further PB.
Sophie Hanna (11) shaved a massive 19.6 seconds off her PB for a top 10 finish in the 100m Individual Medley. She continued to impress with another PB and fantastic swim in the 50m Fly which resulted in a 5th place finish.
Clara Leonard (10) hit the wall among the top ten in both the 100m Individual Medley and 100m Backstroke races.
Older sister Myleene Leonard (11) produced strong swims in both 200m Individual Medley and the 100m Backstroke events, gaining a bronze award in the latter.
Martha McCreesh (12) slashed 11 seconds off her 100m Individual Medley to hit the wall in first place, the 100m Backstroke saw her lift a bronze medal before she finishing her day with yet another gold medal and a further PB in the 50m Butterfly.
Russell Mikiewicz Lumayad (13) achieved PBs in all his events. He took nearly 6 seconds off his 100m Individual Medley time, 3 seconds off 100m Backstroke and over 7 seconds off his 50m Butterfly time.
Crea Mullen (11) took a whopping 10 seconds off her 100m Individual Medley PB and followed up with two more strong swims in the 100m Backstroke and the 50m Butterfly.
Ella Neal (11) produced new PBs in 100m Individual Medley, 100m Backstroke and 50m Butterfly, along with a top ten finish in the latter.
Tori Reid (13) placed 6th in 200m Individual Medley, 5th in 100m Backstroke and hit the wall in 4th place in the 50m Butterfly event.
Maeve Rolston-McAuliffe (12) was thrilled to bring home her first medal from an away gala, winning bronze in the 100m Backstroke. She was also delighted to drop over 9 seconds off her PB in the challenging 200m Individual Medley event. Maeve finished the day well placing 5th in the 50m Butterfly in a time of 45:45.
Emma Speer (12) swam her first 200m Individual Medley with a time of 3.15.43 receiving a bronze award.
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 Aideen Speer, hailed the success of the swimmers saying ‘this was a great opener to our 23/24 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!’
The next event coming up on the racing calendar for the club is the Aspiring Champions Meet in Belfast on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd October.
- 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
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their Autumn Junior Gala on Sunday 26th October, an event aimed at younger swimmers. This was the club’s first Gala in their new temporary base at Omagh Leisure Centre and there was much excitement among the swimmers from the outset with 37 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders taking part. They were joined by competitors from nine other Ulster swimming clubs. For many of the 8-14 year-old competitors, this would be one their first experiences of individual competition, that all important first step for every sportsperson. - 19 Oct 2025Lakelanders secure awards and new PBs at Belfast Aspiring Champions Gala
11 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders swimming club made their way to the Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre in Belfast to compete at Swim Ulster's Aspiring Champions Meet; the first Gala of the season for swimmers aged 13 and over. The event was held over two days, 18th & 19th October. Coaches across Ulster use this gala to assess and monitor swimmers' skills, providing the scaffolding for the building blocks for success in the coming season.
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. - 13 Oct 2025Lakelanders’ Future Challengers deliver strong South Lakes swims
Enniskillen Lakelanders kicked off the 2025/26 Swim Ulster competition season on Sunday when 17 junior members took part in the Future Challengers Meet 1 at the South Lakes Leisure Centre in Craigavon. - 13 Jul 2025Lakelanders Sparkle at National Championships in Limerick
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club were well represented on the National stage at the 2025 Irish Age Group National Championships at the University of Limerick Sports Arena last week. Six young Lakelanders’ swimmers joined almost 700 swimmers from over 100 clubs competing over four days of exciting competition. - 06 Jul 2025Enniskillen Lakelanders will be well represented at Summer National Competitions
With the 2024/2025 swimming season coming to an end, the finale for the competitive swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders is the Irish Summer National competitions. There is great excitement among the 6 Lakelanders swimmers who have qualified to compete at the Age Group Championships in Limerick.
Thursday 10th July sees the start of the 4 day Irish National Age Group Championships for swimmers aged 14 and under in the UL Sport Complex at the University of Limerick. Six Lakelanders have qualified to attend, two of whom are competing at this level for the first time.
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