Lakelanders compete at McCullagh International in Bangor
14 Apr 2024
Lakelanders compete at McCullagh International in Bangor
Three Enniskillen Lakelanders Club swimmers qualified for the prestigious McCullagh International swim meet, held at Bangor’s Aurora Aquatic Centre over four days last week.
A huge achievement in itself, this was a unique opportunity to compete against the best in Ireland and further afield. The event attracted a large contingent of competitors from overseas, including Olympians!
Ellie Dunlop (15) produced some impressive swims having qualified for 3 events at this meet.
Ellie performed well in the 100m Breaststroke heat, with a pb and a place in the Junior final, where Ellie finished as the 3rd fastest 15 year old with a further PB. Next up was 200m Breaststroke where Ellie achieved a PB in the heat, a place in the B final with a further PB, finishing as 6th fastest 15 year old. To finish off the weekend, Ellie swam in the 50m Breaststroke where she took part in a thrilling swim off, narrowly missing a place in the A final, but finishing in 2nd place in the B final, with her 3rd PB, she was delighted to finish as the fastest 15 year old with a 10th place finish overall.
Hannah Lynch (15) hit the wall 4th in her age group in the 800m Freestyle, 5th in the 400m Freestyle and a fabulous 2nd in the gruelling 1500m Freestyle.
Kate McDade (16) had a very successful competition. In a good start in 100m Breaststroke , she just missed out on a place in the final. Day 2 saw Kate qualify for the 200m Breaststroke final and was delighted to come 3rd .
A PB in 50m Breaststroke secured another final. Kate finished 5th with the tightest of margins in this highly competitive race separating the 10 finalists.
Club Chairperson Aideen Speer praised the swimmers’ efforts over the four-day event. ‘It was fantastic to see the Lakelanders represented in several finals and topping the age group rankings. The achievements over the weekend reflects the disciplined work ethic of both the swimmers and head coach Ben Wiffen.
Club Head Coach Ben Wiffen noted this was a very exciting weekend to share with the swimmers as they have done themselves proud at this International Meet. The long course season is well and truly underway with end of season goals now set, a clear picture of the associated work that needs to be done has been drawn up. A few swimming benchmarks being surpassed is always a good confidence builder this early in the competitive season. Gaining experience at an international competition in your back yard is a fantastic opportunity for our swimmers.
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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. - 29 Jun 2025Enniskillen Lakelanders Celebrate Season Successes
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A squad of 18 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers, along with Head Coach Fionna Orr, made their way to Lisburn for the event. - 08 Jun 2025Medals and PBs for Lakelanders at Banbridge Open
Banbridge Open Long Course Meet took place in Craigavon’s South Lakes Leisure Centre on Saturday the 7th of June.
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Swim Ireland’s Irish Open Swimming Championships started on Saturday (12th April) at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre in Dublin. The 5-day event saw over three hundred swimmers from over fifty clubs compete for National titles in thirty-four individual events. The competition saw twelve Championship Records broken as well as three Irish Senior and four Irish Junior Records across the five days of racing as swimmers aimed for places on Senior National Teams. This meet is also the first opportunity for athletes to qualify for the Regional and National programmes for the 2025-2026 season. Three swimmers from the local Enniskillen Lakelanders swim club attended the prestigious meet keen to compete with the best in the country and witness some of the top swimmers the world in action.
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