Ellen Walshe, Eoin Corby and Lucy O’Brien smash Irish records

European Champion Walshe twice downed the Irish 200m Freestyle Record.

NEW RCORD: Ellen Walshe in action. Pic: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

Ellen Walshe, Eoin Corby and Lucy O’Brien all smashed the Irish record at the respective grades with impressive performances on Saturday.

European Champion (25m) Walshe twice downed the Irish 200m Freestyle Record and Corby the 200m Breaststroke Record on day two of the Irish Winter Championships at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre, while 16-year-old O’Brien set a new Irish Junior Record in the 50m Butterfly.

Fresh from her gold (200m Butterfly) and silver (200m Individual Medley) wins at the European Aquatics Championships last week, Walshe continued her fantastic form with new Irish Records in the heats and final of the 200m Freestyle on Saturday.

The Templeogue swimmer clocked 1:55.23 in Saturday morning’s heats, taking 0.67 of a second off Victoria Catterson’s 2023 record of 1:55.90. Her final swim, saw the 24-year-old take a further second and a half off the newly minted record touching in 1:53.72.

It was Walshe’s second win of the weekend having topped the podium in the 100m Freestyle on Friday, the Olympic finalist now owns the long and short course records in the 200m Freestyle.

Ards’ Grace Davison was second in the final in 1:56.32 with National Centre Limerick’s Danielle Farrell third in 1:57.58.

Having set a new Irish Record of 2:05.89 in the semi-final of the 200m Breaststroke at the European Championships last week Corby lowered the time to 2:05.76 in Saturday evening’s final in Dublin.

The National Centre Limerick swimmer took his second win of the weekend having won 100m Breaststroke gold on Friday. Bangor’s Matthew Hand was second in 2:14.67 with National Centre Ulster’s Lachey Reed third in 2:15.45.

Also, on Saturday morning, National Centre Limerick’s Lucy O’Brien took five hundredths of a second off her 50m Butterfly Irish Junior Record. O’Brien had held the record at 27.52 from 2024 and clocked 27.47 in the heats. She was just outside that time in the final in 27.50 for fourth place overall; but won junior gold.

Ards’ Emma Coulter won the 50m Butterfly final in 26.77 ahead of National Centre Ulster’s Alana Burns Atkin (26.97) and UCD’s Jena Macdougald (27.42) while in the men’s final Lisburn’s Dyland Registe won in 23.71 with Paddy Johnston (NCL) second in 24.14 and Sundays Wells’ Thomas Bugler third in 24.30.

The Women’s 100m Backstroke podium replicated Friday night’s 50m Backstroke podium with National Centre Ulster’s Lottie Cullen (57.61) winning gold, National Centre Limerick’s Maria Godden (58.58) silver and bronze going to Jena Macdougald (59.68).

In the Men’s 100m Backstroke Final, John Shortt dominated to take the win in 50.25 seconds, just outside the Irish Record of 50.10 that he set in the 100m Backstroke Final at the European Aquatics Championships (25m) last week. His Limerick team-mates Paddy Johnston (53.23) and Neddie Irwin (53.43) took second and third.

Shortt was back shortly after to claim his third gold of the weekend in the 200m Freestyle. The 18-year-old won in a battle with teammate Cormac Rynn (1:46.86) in 1:46.07. National Centre Ulster’s Adam Colgan was third in 1:48.08.

Larne’s Skye Austin-Burrows made it a distance double adding 1500m Freestyle gold to the 800m Freestyle gold that she won on Friday. Austin Burrows clocked 17:14.91 ahead of 800m Freestyle silver medallist Abby Cunningham from Kilkenny in 16:16.57. Templeogue’s Ava Rock completed the podium in 17:31.90 .

The Men’s 1500m Freestyle winner and silver medallists were also as it was in the 800m Freestyle with National Centre Limerick’s Daragh Horgan winning gold in 15:33.59 and Kilkenny’s Paddy Cuddihy silver in 16:00.08. Templeogue’s Dean Ryan won bronze in 16:41.54.

Shark’s Niamh Connery, who won 100m Breaststroke silver on Friday, topped the podium in the 200m Breaststroke. The European Juniors swimmer clocked 2:28.83 ahead of Portmarnock’s Megan Jones (2:31.75) and Titan’s Jordan Winterbach (2:36.68).

Bangor’s Chloe Stewart and Aer Lingus’ Julia Dziedzic went head-to-head in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley Final. The pair were inseparable until the last twenty-five metres where Stewart surged for the gold medal in 4:54.75 just .82 ahead of Dziedzic’s 4:55.57.

New Ross’ Eva Bayley was third home in 4:59.76 In the Men’s 400m Individual Medley Final, Templeogue’s Baltazar Allende took the win in 4:28.41, second went to Ards Mathias Pickett in 4:34.72 and third to Dolphin’s James McIlroy.

Saturdays relay finals saw Ards’ Paddy Johnston, Ryan McDonnell, Emma Coulter and Grace Davison win the 200m Medley Relay over Swim Belfast (1:48.89) and Larne (1:51.06).

A Larne team of Reuben Alty, David Leggett, Emily Hughes and Sophie Doran then won the 200m Freestyle Relay in 1:39.01 with NAC second in 1:39.39 and Aer Lingus third in 1:39.92.