A miserable morning in the Olympic Aquatic centre left two young Irish swimmers stunned and national performance director Peter Banks struggling for answers.

Melaine Nocher was in upbeat mood this morning despite failing to qualify from her Women's 100m backstroke heat in the Olympics.

Melaine Nocher has failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Women's 100m backstroke despite coming third in her Olympics heat today.

It was only last May when Melanie Nocher decided she had better look up this female boxer everyone was raving about as a gold medal prospect.

Ireland may not be claiming any medals in London’s Aquatic Centre this month but Swim Ireland’s National Performance Director believes the time is fast approaching when the country’s elite swimmers will be targeting podium places on the world stage.

Sycerika McMahon, Irish swimming’s newest sensation, produced a brilliant performance to take a silver medal in the women’s 50 metres Breastroke at the European Senior Championships in Debrecen in Hungary yesterday.

Seventeen-years old Sycerika McMahon, who qualified for the Olympic Games on Tuesday, finished a creditable fifth in the final of the women’s 100 metres breaststroke at the European Swimming championships at Debrecen in Hungary

Two more Irish competitors, 17-year-old Belfast swimmer Sycerika McMahon and 23-year-old Melanie Nocher, have qualified for the London Olympics at the European Swimming Championships inDebrecen, Hungary, taking Ireland’s tally to four.

Melanie Nocher has capped off a positive day for Irish swimming by joining Sycerika McMahon in qualifying for the Olympic Games.

Seventeen-year-old swimming prospect Sycerika McMahon is London-bound after securing the Olympic A standard in the 100m breaststroke this morning.

Irish swimmer Sycerika McMahon has qualified for the Olympics at the European Swimming Championships this morning.

Melanie Nocher missed out on another opportunity to qualify for the London 2012 Games last night. She finished fourth in the guest final of the women’s 200 backstroke at the British Trials which are taking place at the Olympic venue.

Sycerika McMahon has qualified for the women's 100m freestyle at May's European Swimming Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

Two Irish records have been broken in the morning heats on day three of the Irish Swimming Championships and Olympic Trials at the National Aquatics Centre.

One of Irish swimming’s oldest records fell on day three of the Irish Long Course Swimming Championships and Olympic Trials, as 20-year-old Bethany Carson slipped under Michelle Smith’s 100m butterfly mark from 1996.

It was only a four-hundredths of a second gap, but it was enough for Karl Burdis to qualify for May’s European Championships in Hungary last night.

Melanie Nocher, the European Short Course bronze medallist, won the women’s 100 backstroke final in a new personal best time of one minute 1.92 seconds at the Carlton National Swimming Championships and Olympic trials in Dublin yesterday.

Although Olympic qualification was an unlikely prospect during the second night of Irish Long-Course Championship finals, there were other prospects.

Gráinne Murphy came agonisingly close to breaking Michelle Smith de Bruin’s Irish record in the final of the women’s 200m freestyle on the opening day of the Carlton Irish National Swimming and Olympic Trials at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC) in Dublin yesterday.

Melanie Nocher and Sycericka McMahon will be amongst those bidding for Olympic qualification at the National Swimming Championships which begin today at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.

FIONNUALA BRITTON wasn’t the only Irish sportswoman standing on a podium yesterday.

AISLING COONEY and Melanie Nocher narrowly missed World Championship qualification at the Irish Long Course finals at the NAC yesterday.

GRÁINNE MURPHY, Melanie Nocher and Aisling Cooney represent Ireland at the European Short Course (25m) Swimming Championships which begin in Eindhoven today.

WHEN Melanie Nocher was growing up in Holywood, she never noticed the little curly-haired golf prodigy.

ITS many critics dub it ‘doping on a hanger’, its supporters claim it is the evolution of technology.

BEIJING was to be a learning curve for Melanie Nocher, a chance to dip her toes in Olympic waters and lay the groundwork for an assault on the London Games in 2012.

IF Michael Phelps is munching his way through 12,000 calories a day, what are Irish swimmers like Melaine Nocher consuming down in the Olympic Village?

Melanie Nocher has missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke marking the end of Ireland's involvement in the pool at the Beijing Olympics.

Melanie Nocher has won her heat of the 200m backstroke at the Beijing with a time of 2:12.29.

ANDREW BREE said he was going to have to blow his personal best to get through to the semi-final of the 200m breaststroke at the Olympic Aquatic Centre, and he did just that yesterday when he set a new national record at 2:10.91, knocking more than two seconds off his old mark.

Confusion reigned again today over exactly why Ireland's three Olympic swimmers have been wearing black Speedo caps in the Beijing pool rather than their shamrock-logoed Irish caps.

BELFAST’S Melanie Nocher yesterday smashed Michelle Smith’s 14-year-old Irish 200m backstroke record at the Speedo western Canadian swimming championships.

PORMARNOCK swimmer, Karl Burdis, finished the final day of the Irish National Long Course Championships on a high.

PORMARNOCK swimmer, Karl Burdis, finished the final day of the Irish National Long Course Championships on a high. The young Dubliner managed to win the 100m Backstroke, while also setting another European Junior Championships time — his third of the weekend.