Athlone quartet break Connacht record at Winter Nationals

A total of twelve swimmers from Athlone Swimming Club competed at the Irish National Winter Championships (formerly the Irish Short Course Championships) recently.

The club has congratulated Junior swimmers Nicola Brennan, Leah Connell, Kyle Fagan, Jamie Fox, Freddie Moro, Mark Rockett, Lucia Villanon, Darragh Rusk, Jane Ryan, Ella Powell and Naroa Sanz, and Senior swimmer Robert Powell, who all produced excellent performances in the pool.

The quartet of Robert Powell, Kyle Fagan, Mark Rockett and Darragh Rusk put in a superb display in the 4 x 50-metre freestyle relay with a new Connacht Senior record time of 1.37.27, breaking a record which was previously held by Sligo Swimming Club. It was a fantastic team effort and, no doubt, the lads can go on and improve on that performance next year.

Also in record breaking action was 14-year-old Jane Ryan who smashed two under 15 years age group club records in the 50 metres and 100 metres breaststroke with times of 34.67 seconds and 1.15.37.

Jane has been identified as an athlete with great potential, and in September she was invited to train with a high performance group in Dublin at the weekends.

Others who made a splash were Darragh Rusk, Leah Connell, Naroa Sanz and Lucia Villanon, who all made Junior finals in their respective events.

The club’s quartet of Nicola Brennan, Jane Ryan, Leah Connell and Ella Powell came very close to breaking a club record in the 4 x 50 medley relay and will look forward to their next attempt at breaking this record which has stood since 2017. Freddie Moro and Jamie Fox had great swims with both swimmers hitting personal bests in their breaststroke events.

It was a great learning experience for the club’s Junior athletes considering it was a Senior national event and they can take great satisfaction for a truly memorable weekend.