2023 IRISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Saturday, April 1st – Wednesday, April 5th
- Sport Ireland National Aquatic Center, Dublin, Ireland
- LCM (50m)
- World Championships Qualifier
- World Championships Selection Criteria
- SwimSwam Preview
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
Day one of the 2023 Irish Open Championships saw multiple swimmers punch times worthy of World Championships consideration.
We reported how 22-year-old University of Tennessee swimmer Ellen Walshe produced an effort of 57.96 to take the women’s 100m butterfly. That established a new national record, erasing her 58.32 registered in the heats. You can read more about her record here.
Although not an Olympic event, the men’s 50m backstroke saw Shane Ryan dip under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard en route to grabbing gold.
The 29-year-old posted an effort of 25.09 to get to the wall first, producing a time that situates him just outside the list of top 10 performers on the season.
European record holder Daniel Wiffen took the men’s 400m free with twin brother Nathan Wiffen capturing silver in the race.
D. Wiffen hit a time of 3:52.83 to top the podium, while N. Wifffen touched in 3:54.65. Finn McGeever rounded out the top 3 with a final result of 3:54.95. D. Wiffen was slightly quicker in the morning, hitting a new Championships Record of 3:51.17.
A time of 3:48.15 represents the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard needed to qualify for Fukuoka, a benchmark D. Wiffen beat with his clocking of 3:46.62 produced en route to placing 4th in the 4free event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Additional Winners
- Danielle Hill posted a time of 25.35 to just out-touch Mona McSharry in the women’s 50m free. McSharry of the University of Tennessee settled for silver in 25.39. Of note, 4th place finisher Grace Davison set a new Irish Junior Record of 25.88, overtaking Hill’s 2016 mark of 26.08. Davison qualified for the European Junior Championships, Commonwealth Youth Games and European U23 Championships in the process.
- The women’s 400m free saw Trojan swimmer Grace Hodgins clear the field in a gold medal-worthy effort of 4:17.73.
- Despite taking the top seed in the morning heats of the men’s 100m breaststroke in a result of 1:00.39, Darragh Greene was the silver medalist in the event’s final. Greene logged 1:01.02, just .02 behind winner Eoin Corby of Limerick who grabbed 1breast gold in 1:01.00.
- Jack Cassin posted the sole time under 2:00 in the men’s 200m fly, hitting 1:59.72 for gold. He was slightly faster in the heats in a morning time of 1:59.66.
