The last-chance saloon signs are up for some of the 12 Irish swimmers who will compete in this week’s European Swimming Championships with aspirations of reaching the 2012 Olympic Games.
While the likes of Shane Ryan, Fiona Doyle and Nicholas Quinn have already booked their place on the plane to this summer’s Games in Rio, there are at least two other Irish swimmers who have one final opportunity to make the Brazilian Olympics when the action gets under way at 10 o'clock on Monday morning.
The closest is 17-year-old Conor Ferguson from the Larne Club in Belfast.
Ferguson was a mere six hundredths of a second shy of making the Olympic qualifying mark (54.36 seconds) in the men's 100-metres backstroke at the recent National Open Meet at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.
During the race, Ferguson was paced all the way to the finish by Ryan as the ex US National squad member tried to help his fellow Irish swimmer to join the three already qualified for Rio.
Ferguson missed out by the width of a fingernail on that occasion, and he will be hoping to go below the time required when he and Ryan compete in the heats of the 100 backstroke on Monday morning.
Ferguson is only swimming one event in London as he will be return to Northern Ireland after the event to complete his GCSE exams.
While Ferguson attempts to make the Olympics, 22-year-old Ryan, whose FINA clearance to swim for Ireland came through on Friday last, has loftier ambitions and is a realistic medal prospect in the 100 backstroke.
Ryan is ranked at number eight in Europe currently with his 53.93 second swim at the recent Dave McCullough meet in Bangor good enough to qualify him for the Rio Games.
The main opposition to Ryan is likely to come from Frenchman Camille Lacourt and Britain’s Christopher Walker Hebborn.
Nicholas Quinn, Dan Sweeney and Alex Murphy all compete in the 100m Breaststroke heats on Monday.
Murphy, who swims with the UCD club, was just half a second off the Olympic qualification time earlier this year while Sweeney’s Olympic qualification attempt will be in the 200 metres Breastroke later in the week.
Brendan Hyland will swim the 50m Butterfly heats on the opening day while Danielle Hill competes in the 200m Backstroke.
Day One Irish competitors
100m Backstroke Shane Ryan, Conor Ferguson
100m Breaststroke Nicholas Quinn, Alex Murphy, Dan Sweeney
200m Backstroke Danielle Hill
50m Butterfly Brendan Hyland
