Nocher smashes Smith’s record

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

Nocher recorded a time of 2:08.52 to win the gold medal and break Smith’s record set in 1994 by over two seconds.

The 21-year-old, who is hoping to qualify for the Irish Olympic team at the European Swimming championships in Eindhoven in March, set three Irish backstroke records over the weekend at the Canadian meet.

Andrew Bree is the only Irish swimmer to have qualified for the Olympics thus far, but if Nocher continues her rich vein of form into the European Championships next month, she could well make the Irish team for the Games in China in August.

There was further success for Irish swimming over the weekend with the Irish team in record-breaking form at the Celtic Tri-Nations Championships in Edinburgh.

Acting Secretary of the Irish Swim Coaches Association, Brian Sweeney, described it a ‘fantastic weekend for Irish swimming’.

“Swim Ireland has been working hard putting in full-time coaches over the last 18 months and a lot of this success is due to the new system.

“Melaine is now getting ready for a training camp in Mexico ahead of the European Championships. Her performance in Canada is the perfect boost for that and for her hopes of Olympic qualification.”

Sweeney outlined the successes achieved in Scotland against the host nation and Wales: “Andrew Meegan broke his own Irish junior and senior record in the 1500m front crawl and Grainne Murphy set records in the 800m front crawl and the 400m individual medley,” he said.

In fact in the 800m, Niamh O’Sullivan and Bethany Carson also swam inside the old Irish record.

“There were also records for Karl Burdis and Fiona Doyle,” he added.

Meanwhile history was made at the University of Limerick on Saturday when Norma Cahill of Ennis set the first world Lifesaving record in Ireland

Cahill smashed the world record in the ‘100m Manikin Carry with Fins’. She shaved 0.78s off the record set by Schankin Petra of Germany in 2004 (1.16.76).

The record is subject to a compulsory Irish Sports Council anti-doping test, which, has been requested by the International Lifesaving Federation.