2022 Irish Winter National Championships Set for Dublin

Swim Ireland’s 2022 Irish National Winter Championships (formerly known as the Irish National Short Course Championships) kick off this week from Thursday 15th – Saturday 17th December, at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre.

Almost 500 swimmers from over 90 clubs and teams, both Irish and overseas, will compete in the first National Championships of the 2022/2023 season.

A host of Ireland’s elite swimmers will compete for national titles over the three-day meet, including Olympians Daniel Wiffen, Danielle Hill, Shane Ryan, Darragh Greene and Ellen Walshe; Walshe returns to the blocks to race for the first time since last December.

Wiffen will look to continue his excellent form, competing in the 400m and 800m Freestyle events. The Larne and Loughborough University swimmer returns to action on the back of a record-breaking weekend at the Scottish National Short Course Championships, setting new Irish records in the 400m Individual Medley, 800m and 1500m Freestyle. Wiffen clocked 14:14.45 in the 1500m event, a time that is the sixth fastest ever and the quickest in the world this year, breaking his own previous Irish record by almost 18 seconds.

World Para silver medallist and recent Swim Ireland Para Swimmer of the Year, Ellen Keane will feature over the weekend, alongside fellow World medallists Nicole Turner and Róisín Ní Riain while Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Barry McClements will also compete.

Speaking ahead of the Irish Winter National Championships, Swim Ireland National Performance Director, Jon Rudd said: “It seems like a long time since we have seen the majority of our leading Irish athletes compete on home soil and the three days ahead will certainly be exciting to watch. We have a number of athletes returning from the US Open and the Rotterdam International meet to compete in this event, with another group of athletes also recently benefitting from altitude training in Flagstaff – and so we can expect to see lifetime best performances in the 25m pool from a whole range of Irish athletes. To also have some overseas representation at the event brings an extra dimension to the racing – so if you enjoy fast swimming, the NAC is where you should be this weekend!”

The full event will be streamed live on the Swim Ireland YouTube channel with thanks to Sport Ireland Women in Sport, who have supported with the streaming of this event. RTE’s John Kenny will be joined by David Thompson and India McGlynn on commentary over the three days of action.

Information:

Live Stream: Swim Ireland YouTube channel

Results: Live Timing or Meet Mobile App (search 2022 Irish National Winter Championships)

Schedule: Heats 9.30am/Finals 5pm