10 Jul 2023

Enniskillen Lakelanders Sparkle at National Championships

Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club were well represented on the National stage at the 2023 Irish Age Group National Championships at the University of Limerick Sports Arena last week. Five young Lakelanders’ swimmers joined almost 700 swimmers from 100 clubs competing over four days of exciting competition.

 

Ellie Dunlop (14) qualified for finals in all three of her events, placing 4^th in the 100m Breaststroke, picking up a new PB in the 200m Individual Medley to place 9^th and went on to drop almost 5 seconds off her 200m Breaststroke PB to place 7^th in an exciting final race. Ellie’s hard work in training has also gained her a place on the Ulster Squad with qualifying times in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events.

 

Hannah Lynch (14) secured a new PB and a 12^th place ranking in the 200m Backstroke and another PB in the 50m Freestyle. The longer distance Freestyle events were her strongest performances with a fabulous 10 seconds off her PB in the 400m Freestyle bringing her to 12^th place, a whopping 23 seconds off her time in the 800m Freestyle event where she hit the wall in 6^th place. The highlight however was to be Hannah’s final event which saw her shave a fantastic 1 minute 9 seconds off her PB in the arduous 1500m Freestyle where she finished in 4^th place in a time of 19 minutes 39 seconds. These amazing PBs gained Hannah three special Swim Ireland certificates in recognition of her time improvements in the 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle. Hannah also picked up a qualifying time for the Ulster Squad in the 200m Backstroke event.

 

Martha McCreesh (12) was delighted to qualify for the final in the 100m Breaststroke at her first National competition. She dropped a total of 2.4 seconds off her PB to place 9^th in the final ranking.

 

Ava Neal (13), also on the National stage for the first time, had a fantastic Championship. The 100m Breaststroke saw her shave 3 seconds off her PB, she had another great swim in the 200m Freestyle, maintaining her seed time and her versatility also brought her another PB in the 200m Backstroke event. She collected further new PBs in the 50m and 100m Freestyle races. The 200m Breaststroke was to be the highlight of the week for Ava as she pushed almost 11 seconds off her PB to gain a spot in the finals which saw her drop a further second to hit the wall in 17^thplace. These massive PBs gained Ava a special Swim Ireland certificate in recognition of her time improvements.

 

Emma Speer (12), another young swimmer at the National Championships for the first time, qualified for finals in the 200m Breaststroke with 2 seconds off her PB. Further tweaks to her race strategy on advice from Head Coach Ben Wiffen saw Emma knock a further 5 seconds off her time to hit the wall in 13^th place in an exciting final event.

 

Head Coach Ben Wiffen praised the swimmers’ efforts over the 4-day meet stating ‘This event has been a fantastic event for our club swimmers with a great atmosphere. I would encourage anyone who qualifies to attend this event in future years. Our swimmers have performed extremely well over the meet, focusing on improving their racing strategy and gaining great race experience, qualifying for finals and taking home several improvement recognition certificates as well as Ulster Squad qualification times is a great reward.’

 

Club Chairperson Aideen Speer said ‘These swimmers have been training hard over the season and their success is testament to their dedication in the pool. All the swimmers and their families are also grateful to club sponsors Lough Erne Resort and Western Cars. Special thanks is reserved for Enniskillen Lakelanders’ Head Coach Ben Wiffen for his hard work with the swimmers throughout the season and during the 4 days of the event.’

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