2025 Irish Winter Swimming Championships
- December 12-14, 2025
- National Aquatic Centre, Dublin, Ireland
- Short Course Meters (25m)
- Psych Sheets
- Meet Central
- Live Results
- Live Results also on Meet Mobile: “2025 Irish National Winter Championships”
- Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
John Shortt, Ireland’s newest swimming star, finished competition at the Irish Winter Swimming Championships with two more National Junior Records on Sunday.
First in the 50 free, he swam 21.84 to win the race and crush Matthew Hamilton‘s Irish Junior Record of 22.78 done in April of this year. Hamilton dropped to 22.30 at last week’s European Championships, but that race came after his 19th birthday.
Irish Junior Records in SCM recognize male swimmers until their 19th birthday and female swimmers until their 17th birthday.
Shortt had a previous best of 23.74 from 2022, but that was a lagging improvement given that he’s been faster already in long course. His new best time missed the Irish overall record by just a tenth.
Just six races later, he set another personal best and broke another Irish Record in the 100 IM, swimming 54.32. That broke Jack Cassin‘s old mark of 54.56 and cleared Shortt’s own personal best of 58.09 from 2023.
Jack McMillan, who now competes for Great Britain, still holds the overall record in 53.09.
Shortt, 18, is the defending World Junior Champion in the 200 backstroke, skipped that event on Sunday. Aside from the 100 back that he won on Saturday (not in a best time), he focused on secondary events at this meet. On Saturday, he won the 200 free in 1:46.07, dropping more than five seconds, and on Friday he set a new Irish Record in the 200 IM, dropping 48 seconds off his best time.
Other Day 3 Highlights:
- Olympian Ellen Walshe won the 100 fly in 56.26, just missing her best time. That came after a new Irish Record in the 200 free on Saturday.
- 19-year-old Isabel Kidney won her second and third individual races in the 50 breast and 100 IM, respectively. She won the 50 breast in 31.37 and the 100 IM in 1:01.61. Earlier in the meet she also won the 200 IM (2:15.25). All three winning times were significant time drops:
- 200 IM: -4.58 seconds
- 50 breast: -0.85 seconds
- 100 IM: -2.50 seconds
Oops! While John did indeed break those Irish records and many congratulations to him, he has never raced for GBR.
Not sure using an image of a GBR cap was the wisest choice for this article historically speaking…