Swimmers deliver strong performances and medals at Leinster Long Course
It was a hugely positive and encouraging weekend for Kilkenny Swimming Club at the 2024 Leinster Long Course Championships which were held in the National Aquatic Centre.
Swimmers swam out of their skins to set new personal best times (PBs) which resulted in finals being reached and medals won across the full range of strokes and distances. There was a further boost for Kilkenny as Paddy Cuddihy was named male swimmer of the championships.
The opening day got off to a good start with medals in the first session as Kilkenny swimmers showcased their stamina in the freestyle distance events. In the girls’ 400m freestyle Abby Cunningham won bronze in the 15-16 age group. In the next age group up Nessa Godden claimed gold with Megan Murphy reaching the 13-14 final. In the male event Paddy Cuddihy secured his first gold in the 1500 metres.
In the evening finals Brendan Pretorius, Roisín Moseley, Abby Cunningham all reached finals of the 100m breaststroke. There was a good representation in the 100m backstroke finals on day one, Paddy Cuddihy claimed gold in the 15-16 age groups while Des O’Connell reached the final of the under-12s and Daran Yalnazov reached the 17 & over final. In the girls event both Megan Murphy and Erin Morrissey reached their respective finals.
The one length 50m free, saw Kate Maher finish fifth in the final while over the same distance in butterfly both Doug Duffy and Matthew McAviney reached the finals with the former missing out on a bronze by two-hundredths of a second. In the 200m freestyle Paddy Cuddihy showed his versatility in winning gold to go with the two he won earlier.
Just like on day one, the distance specialists got the team going with two silvers thanks to Abby and Nessa in the 800m freestyle while Paddy added gold. In the midday session Jane O’Connor showed true grit to come out on top of a duel in the 400m individual medley to win silver by just seven-hundredths of a second.
In the first of the evening finals, the 50m back, Kilkenny had three finalists in Daran Yalnazov, Doug Duffy and Paddy Cuddihy who won silver. Marcas Bowen reached the 100 breaststroke final and in the energy-sapping 200m fly Matthew McAviney secured bronze. In the girls’ 100m fly Shelby Newsome and Molly Bollard reached their respective finals with the latter swimming a new PB. In the 100m free final Doug Duffy showed his good form, swimming a PB to claim bronze. In the girls’ 200m free Kilkenny were well represented by Megan Murphy, Abby Cunningham and Kate Maher, the latter knocking 2.63 off her previous best time.
Day two culminated with great excitement in 4x100m freestyle relays. The boys’ team of Doug Duffy, Marcas Bowen, Matthew McAviney and Paddy Cuddihy won silver in a time of 3:48:82. Moments later the girls’ team of Abby Cunningham, Kate Maher, Molly Bollard and Nessa Godden showed what they could do with a bronze of their own in 4:13:26.
The third day of action had good results, starting with Paddy Cuddihy in the 400m freestyle. In the 200m backstroke Megan Murphy won bronze in the 200m backstroke aged 13-14. Daran Yalnazov was sixth in the 200m back final while Paddy Cuddihy secured gold. Nessa Godden showed her stamina with gold in the 1,500m.
On the final day the following swimmers reached finals: Jane O’Connor, 200m individual medley (IM); Marcas Bowen, 50m breaststroke; Molly Bollard, 50m fly final and 200m back; Doug Duffy, 50m free. There are breaststrokers showing promise as both Roisín Moseley and Jane O’Connor reached the 200m breaststroke finals, while, in the 100m fly Ryan Yalnazov, Matthew McAviney and Marcas Bowen made the finals.
In the penultimate race of the gala, the 100m free, Kate Maher saved her best swim until last when knocking 0.6 seconds off her previous PB to claim a bronze in a nail-biting finish by just five-hundredths of a second.
The end of the championships brought a short reprieve from training, with a lie-in on Monday morning was the reward for the A squad swimmers but it was back to the 5.30am training on Tuesday as the focus for many is the Irish Open at the end of May. The June Bank Holiday weekend offers another chance for others to achieve qualification times for nationals in July.