Mallow Swans taking a break at the NAC: front row: Sarah Crowley, Ella Fouhy, Aoife OShea, and Ashling Cronin; middle row: Cadan McCarthy, Killian Bolster, Mark Walsh, and Tarik Yilmaz; back row: Fionn Neenan and Conleth Aspel, with coaches Cormac Powell and Deirdre Linehan.
Mallow Swans Swimming Club is nearing the end of its 2014-15 season which is concluding with a number of national and international galas. Recently we had 12 swimmers representing the club at the 2015 Irish Age Group Championships and Summer Open at the superb National Aquatic Centre, Dublin. This is the biggest event Swim Ireland has ever run, with 107 clubs and over 900 athletes participating, including visiting teams from Canada, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Germany, Poland and the UK. For many swimmers competing, this competition is a starting step in the Swim Ireland National Competition Pathway, and for many others it is the culmination of a year’s hard training. Each day began with warm-up at 7.15am, heats at 9.30am and, for those who qualified, finals were run each evening from 6pm.
The athletes who represented us were Conleth Aspel, Killian Bolster, Ashling Cronin, Sarah Crowley, Jed Duane, Ella Fouhy, Jessica Harris, Cadan McCarthy, Fionn Neenan, Aoife O’Shea, Mark Walsh and Tarik Yilmaz, and over the course of the five-day competition they competed in 50 events, achieving many
PBs (personal bests) as well as reaching a number of finals and podium presentations.
Day 1 – Wednesday:
The first event was the 400m Freestyle. In the Boys (14-15) we had Killian Bolster, Conleth Aspel and Cadan McCarthy. All three competed well with Cadan being placed 4th overall in the age group. In the Boys (16-17) both Jed Duane and Mark Walsh did us proud, Mark reaching the evening final and winning silver, his first medal of the Championships. The next 2 events saw Sarah Crowley (17 and Over) Girls 50m Free and Killian Bolster (14-15) Boys 200m Breastroke representing the club in style. Our final event on day 1 was the Boys’ 100m Backstroke where in 14-15 Killian Bolster, Fionn Neenan, Conleth Aspel and Cadan McCarthy competed valiantly, Cadan coming 6th overall in the age group evening final. In Boys 16 and Over, Tarik Yilmaz reached the Open B Final, achieving an age group 4th.
Day 2 – Thursday:
the girls started first with the 200m IM where both Ella Fouhy and Sarah Crowley swam well and were pipped short of reaching the evening Open Finals (15 and Over). Next we had the Boys 100m Free where at 14-15 both Killian Bolster and Cadan McCarthy were satisfied with their morning heat performances, Cadan being 1st reserve for the evening Age Group Final. At 16-17, both Tarik Yilmaz and Mark Walsh did us proud, Mark reaching and finishing 6th in the evening Open B Final. Our final event, the Boys 200m Fly saw Cadan McCarthy (14-15) touching first to win gold.
Day 3 – Friday:
in Boys 200m Free, our first event saw Conleth Aspel, Killian Bolster and Cadan McCarthy at 14-15 where all three boys were on song, Cadan achieving 7th place in the evening Age Group Final. At 16-17, Jed Duane, Tarik Yilmaz and Mark Walsh swam very competitively, Mark being placed 9th overall in the evening final. Our girls swam next in the 100m Breaststroke where Aoife O’Shea (12 and Under), in her first IAG Division Ones, and Ella Fouhy at 15-16 were satisfied with their performances, Ella reaching the evening Open B Final, achieving 4th place. In the Boys’ 400m IM, Cadan McCarthy (14-15) won his 2nd medal, bronze, and Mark Walsh (16-17) placed 5th in his age group. Finally, in the Girls’ 800m Free, Jessica Harris (12and Under), also in her first IAG Division Ones, was pleased with her efforts.
Day 4 – Saturday:
In 14-15, Fionn Neenan, Conleth Aspel, Killian Bolster and Cadan McCarthy competed strongly in the 200m Back event where Cadan achieved 3rd place bronze in the evening Age Group Final. At 16-17, both Tarik Yilmaz and Mark Walsh were delighted with their efforts, a 2nd spot finish for Tarik in the B Final, l 4th in 16-17, and a 2nd place silver medal for Mark in the A Final. Competing for the club in the next event, Girls 200m Free, we had Ashling Cronin (12 and Under), who was also in her first IAG Division Ones, and Sarah Crowley (17 and Over). Our final boys’ event, 100m Fly, saw both Mark Walsh and Cadan McCarthy swimming, and both boys did well, Cadan finishing 7th overall in 14-15. In our last girls’ event, 200m Breastroke, Aoife O’Shea (12 and Under) and Ella Fouhy (15-16) swam really well, Ella reaching and finishing 6th in the evening Open B Final.
Day 5 – Sunday:
In this, the last day of competition, first out was Tarik Yilmaz (16-17) in the highly competitive Boys’ 50m Free where he was very pleased with his swim. Next we had the Boys 200m IM, where at 14-15, Conleth Aspel, Killian Bolster and Cadan McCarthy represented us with style again. In the evening Age Group Final, Cadan won 2nd place silver. Both Tarik Yilmaz and Mark Walsh swam in the 16-17 Age Group where they were thrilled with their efforts, and in coming first in the evening Open B Final Mark won silver in the Age Group. And in our last event of the meet, the Girls’ 1500m Free, Jessica Harris (12 and Under), secured a credible placing in her age group.
The IAG Championships and Summer Open Nationals was a brilliant competition conducted in the finest sporting atmosphere. Mallow Swans SC would like to thank the NAC, officials and all volunteers for helping to run a successful meet including our club parents who officiated for the Club, as team assistants and rostered officials at NAC. Without this help, none of the competitions could have taken place. Although swimming is an individual sport, athletes could not achieve their goals without the help and support of their families. We trust that all have enjoyed the athletes’ achievements and reflect with pride on the contribution to their performance.
Mallow Swans SC are continuing to work hard with our dedicated band of volunteers and parents to make sure our competitions are a memorable experience for our athletes. We would especially like to say thank you to coaches, Cormac Powell, Deirdre Linehan and Arif Yilmaz, who coached the swimmers all year – all three were delighted with the performances and agreed they bore testament to the dedication of all. We wish to acknowledge this as Deirdre Linehan’s final gala as coach and would like to thank her for her years of service to the club which our swimmers have benefited hugely from.
We have just two events left in the 2014-‘15 season: this week, Mark Walsh and Sarah Crowley are representing Swim Ireland Munster at the Portuguese Open Championships in Funchal, Madeira, and in early August, Cadan McCarthy will also represent Swim Ireland Munster at the ASA British Championships 2015 in Sheffield. We wish them the best of luck!