Irish Age Group Division 2 Finals

The journey to the Irish Age Group Nationals in Limerick at the start of July,  is not just measured in miles for the 5 members of the Enniskillen Lakelanders who made the round trip, but also in the hundred plus hours of training over a season in the pool which helped them succeed in reaching such an outstanding achievement.

Molly Johnston (13) made her debut appearance in the competition in the 100m breaststroke. The long journey to Limerick was worth it, Molly swam a fantastic 3sec PB to finish in the top 20. A great experience and achievement for Molly, her training and commitment throughout the year has certainly paid off.

12yr old Isobel Lannon arrived in Limerick with 4 days of competition ahead of her.  On Thursday Isobel smashed her Pb in the 200m freestyle by 3 seconds in a time of 1.30.90.  Her back crawl told a similar story with another 4 second Pb.  The finals in these events resulted in additional time improvements and coming in as the 3rd fastest 12yr old in both the 200 free and 100m backcrawl. On Friday morning the Isobel achieved another PB in the 100m free in a time of 1.09.90 proving how tight the freestyle margins are, she missed out on the finals by a 20th of a second. The 100m breaststroke resulted in her 3rd final of the meet and a 7th place finish with a division 1 time of 1.27.80.  On Saturday in the first of three events Izzy swam an impressive 6 second Pb in the 200 backcrawl. Stunning performances in the 50 free and its subsequent final resulted in her hitting 30.94s a fantastic time considering she just turned 12yrs last week. Competing the 400 free for the second time only, Isobel achieved a 6second PB and a 9th place finish overall. On Sunday Isobel achieved PBS in both her 200m breastroke and 200IM and her last final of the competition. Finally, to top the weekend Izzy won the bronze in the 800m free. Isobel was incredibly proud to be place top ten in 8out of 10 of her events and top 5 12yr old in all 10 events not forgetting winning her first national medal.

Niamh O’Kane was competing for the Lakelanders at her 4th National Finals in a row, a fantastic achievement in itself.  She found herself in the 15 and over category, and in many cases competing against 19 and 20 year olds for a podium finish.  With the 200 Free, 100 Back and 100 Free ahead of her, Niamh used her training and experience at the Nationals to take the occasion in her stride.  First up, Niamh set a new PB in the 200 Free in a time of 2.28.77, and closely followed that excellent swim just 30 minutes later with a top 5 finish in her heat in the 100 meter back.  On day 2, Niamh again powered her way to a fantastic finish in the 100 Free, narrowly missing out on a pb.

Ciosa McConnell was making her debut at National level. She competed in 2 individual events and a relay. Her individual events were in her favoured breaststroke. On Friday she swam a 3 second PB in the heats of the 100m which secured her a top ten finish and a place in the final were she finished 8th overall. On Sunday morning she swam in the 200m. Again in the heats she achieved a 4 second PB which was once again rewarded with a place in the final, finishing 9th overall. 

The Lakelanders squad of Cora, Isobel, Molly and Ciosa swam the 200m freestyle relay.  Starting off first in the relay was Cora Cassidy who was excited to join her team mates in Limerick, and she cruised in at 35 seconds setting the pace.  Next up was Isobel Lannon, then Molly Johnston and finally Ciosa McConnell to close the relay in which the girls touched home in 6th place in their heat.

Overall the Lakelanders swim club was proudly represented by the 5 young swimmers in Limerick at the Nationals, and we thank club coaches Fionna and Rob, the parents and all the volunteers within over the past year who have helped these girls achieve the incredible success in the pool at this showcase year end event.

IAG Div 2 2018, Enniskillen Lakelanders