Penultimate day at the Irish Open

The penultimate day of the Irish Open Short Course Swimming Championships in Lisburn saw a number of very exciting swims and close finishes.

In the Men’s 100m Freestyle the medal winners were separated by .09 seconds with Robert Hoal(Bangor) coming home in 52.17 followed closely by Jonathan Niblock (Larne) in 52.15 and Joe Murphy (Waterford Crystal) 52.16.

The Women’s 100m Freestyle saw Jacqueline Mooney (Athlone) winning in 58.69 with Sharon Coady (Cormorant) in silver medal position in a time of 59.75 and Dairne Ryan (Galway) taking the bronze medal in 58.81.

In the Women’s 50m Backstroke Charlotte Leonard (ESB) took the gold medal in 31.26 with Niamh McDonnell (Cormorant) taking silver in 31.39 and Rosanna Cooney (Glenalbyn) taking the bronze medal in 31.67.

The Women’s 100m Butterfly title was retained by Laura McDonnell (Cormorant) in a time of 1.02.53 followed by her clubmate Sinead Tyrrell in a time of 1.04.34 and Gillian Gavaghan (ESB) taking third place in a time of 1.04.42.

Some very exciting swims are expected tomorrow with the finals of the Women’s 50m Freestyle in which the fastest three qualifers are separated by .5 seconds.
The Men’s 50m Freestyle should also prove to be a nail-biting final with .6seconds separating the eight finalists.