Ulster Short Course Success for Lakelanders Swimmers
09 Nov 2021
Ulster Short Course Success for Lakelanders Swimmers
Last weekend saw 7 swimmers from the Enniskillen Lakelanders compete in the Ulster Short-Course Championships held at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre, Belfast. The local swimmers approached this event with excitement, not least because it was the first major regional competition since lockdown but also because many were aiming to impress new Lakelanders Head Coach, Ben Wiffen across 41 individual events and 3 Relays.
The three day meet got off to a flying start with the 200m Breaststroke event where Anna McDade (15) secured a new Personal Best (PB) and her first Irish SC qualification time of the meet whilst Dara Ronan (17) also achieved a new PB in this event.
Emilie Reihill (15), Izzy Lannon (15) and Ben Lynch (18) competed in the 400m Freestyle. Emilie achieved a PB in a well controlled race with both girls gaining experience in race management and strategy over this longer distance. Cora Rooney (16) performed well in the 50m Backstroke event dropping below 30 seconds for the first time. In the 200m Individual Medley (IM) we saw Anna, Izzy and Ben in action where Anna and Izzy were delighted to PB in the heats with Izzy securing a place in the final.
The 100m Butterfly event saw Cora Rooney finish in 7th place with another Irish SC time, Anna McDade continued her good form to secure another PB and Dara Ronan finished in the top 10. The final event of the first day, the 50m Freestyle saw both Emilie and Anna perform well to achieve new PB times with Anna dropping below 30 seconds for the first time.
Swimming in the Finals of day one Cora took 3rd place in the 50m Backstroke with an Irish SC time, whilst in the 200m IM Izzy set a new PB breaking 2.40 for the first time to place 8th overall. Ben racing in the final of the 400m Freestyle finished in 5th place.
Spirits were high at the start of day two with a 5th place finish for the Mixed Freestyle Relay team of Dara, Ben, Anna and Emilie followed by the 200m Freestyle where Ben, Emilie and Izzy competed with both Izzy and Emilie producing new PBs. In the 200m Backstroke Cora secured her spot in the final and in the 100m Breaststroke Anna achieved a PB, a place in the final and another Irish Short Course qualification time.
The 100m Individual Medley (IM) saw Anna again produce a PB swim to secure the Ulster Junior Championship title for this event alongside her third Irish SC time. In the 50m Butterfly, Anna and Cora both produced PB times with Cora progressing to the final where she placed 4th with another time improvement and her fourth Irish SC time. Dara also swam well in the heats to progress to the men’s 50m Butterfly final. The Mixed Medley Relay team of Izzy, Anna, Dara and Ben finished in 6th place. The morning session was rounded off with Emilie and Izzy in action in the 800m Freestyle, both girls producing very consistent swims over the long distance event with Izzy pleased to secure a further PB.
Finals of day two saw Cora compete in the 200m Backstroke where she improved on her heat time to finish in 2nd place with her third Irish SC time. The 100m Breaststroke Final saw Anna improve her time and ranking to finish in 5th place. In the 50m Butterfly Final Cora placed 4th with another time improvement and her fourth Irish SC time. Dara also improved on his time in the heats to finish in 5th place in the 50m Butterfly Mens Final and secured his first Senior Irish SC qualification time. Ben swam the Final of the 800m Freestyle rounding off his weekend with a 7th place finish.
On the final morning of the three day meet the Lakelanders continued to impress with Cora, Izzy and Dara producing PB swims in the 100m Backstroke. Cora progressed to the final with her Irish SC time. Molly Johnston (16) joined her team mates on Sunday morning, swimming in the 50m Breaststroke where both Molly and Anna achieved new PBs, with Anna progressing to the final with her fourth Irish SC time. Next up for the Lakelanders we saw Dara in action in the 200m Butterfly where he progressed to the final. The final individual event of the morning saw Anna, Emilie and Izzy compete in the same heat of the 100m Freestyle event with all three girls producing new SC PBs. The final event of the morning, the relay team of Izzy, Molly, Anna, Emilie performed well with an 8th place finish.
Finals of day three on Sunday evening saw Cora improve on both her heat time and ranking to take the Silver medal in the 100m Backstroke, whilst Anna equalled her heat time in the Final of the 50m Breaststroke. This was an excellent finish to the meet for the youngest Lakelander attending with PBs across all 9 of her events, reaching 3 finals, 4 Irish SC times and an Ulster Junior Title.
In what was to be the last event for the Lakelanders Dara Ronan showed his stamina in the 200m Butterfly, where he produced a strong final 25m to secure the Bronze medal with another PB time which also also saw him bag yet another Irish Short Course qualification.
Speaking after the event, new Lakelanders' Head Coach Ben Wiffen was very impressed by his new team and praised the Lakelanders saying 'With an Ulster Junior title, numerous finals qualifications, PBs and 10 Irish SC qualification times, this was a strong performance and I'm really looking forward to working with this squad as the season progresses'.
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Swim Ireland's Irish Youth and Senior Summer National Championships 2026 took place from Tuesday 21st to Saturday 25th July at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre, Dublin. The five-day event saw 1125 swimmers from over 120 clubs compete from all over Ireland to as far afield as Dubai. The path to nationals is paved by hundreds of hours in the pool so to qualify for this prestigious competition is a huge achievement for the swimmers. There was high excitement among the Enniskillen Lakelanders swimmers who had qualified to compete. - 12 Jul 2026Lakelanders Sparkle at National Championships in Limerick
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club were well represented on the National stage at the 2026 Irish Age Group National Championships at the University of Limerick Sports Arena last week. Two young Lakelanders’ swimmers joined almost 700 swimmers from over 100 clubs competing over four days of exciting competition, bringing home a National title to Enniskillen. - 03 Jul 2026Enniskillen Lakelanders will be well represented at Summer National Competitions
With the 2025/2026 swimming season coming to an end, the finale for the competitive swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders is the Irish Summer National competitions. These competitions will take place across two meets in July with Age Group Championships will take place in Limerick, followed by Irish Summer National Youth & Senior Championships in Dublin. There is great excitement among the 7 local swimmers who have qualified to compete at these events. - 28 Jun 2026Lakelanders Deliver Outstanding Results at Swim Ulster Swim Festival 2026
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The Lakelanders rose to the occasion in style, returning home with an impressive haul of medals and personal bests (PBs), highlighting the hard work, determination and commitment of these talented young athletes. - 27 Jun 2026Enniskillen Lakelanders Celebrate Season Successes
Enniskillen Lakelanders Swimming Club held their annual End of Season Gala on Saturday 27th June. This marked the end of the club's 10 month season, and their first year training in Omagh Leisure Centre. The gala was an opportunity for swimmers across all training groups to compete side by side and a fun relay rounded off the event. - 07 Jun 2026Lakelanders Deliver Outstanding Results at Swim Belfast Invitational 2026
A squad of 20 swimmers from Enniskillen Lakelanders ASC made a big splash at the Swim Belfast Invitational 2026, held at Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre, Belfast, on Sunday 7th June, delivering a series of outstanding performances against strong competition.
The Lakelanders rose to the occasion in style, returning home with an impressive haul of medals and personal bests (PBs), highlighting the hard work, determination, and commitment of these talented young athletes. - 06 Jun 2026Medals and PBs for Lakelanders at Banbridge Open
Banbridge Open Long Course Meet took place in Craigavon’s South Lakes Leisure Centre on Saturday the 6th of June.
A squad of 11 Enniskillen Lakelanders’ swimmers, along with Head Coach Fionna Orr, made their way to the fabulous South Lakes Leisure Centre long course (50m) swimming pool for the final club meet of the season for the older swimmers. This meet provided the final opportunity for competitive swimmers to qualify for Swim Ireland's Irish Summer National competitions. As a bonus Banbridge swimming club had extended their invitation to clubs from all over Ireland. The chance to achieve qualifying times and compete against the best in Ireland was too good to miss. - 31 May 2026Lakelanders' successful weekend in Bangor
Seven Enniskillen Lakelanders' swimmers travelled to the Aurora Complex in Bangor to race at the Ian Wright Memorial Gala at the weekend. - 03 May 2026An Ulster title, a slew of medals and PBs home to Enniskillen from Ulster Champs
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