Visit our 2015 Irish Open event landing page for video interviews and on-demand race footage from Dublin!
Visit our 2015 Irish Open event landing page for video interviews and on-demand race footage from Dublin!
The U.S. junior squad won all eight events tonight at the Irish Open, with Ruby Martin collecting her second win of the meet. The host nation had plenty to celebrate today, as two athletes broke junior records at the National Aquatic Centre.
Martin, yesterday’s winner in the 200 butterfly, took the lead early in the 400 IM final and held off a surge in the freestyle from teammate Evie Pfeifer. Martin’s winning time of 4:50.98 just missed her lifetime best of 4:50.38, which she swam last summer at the USA Swimming junior nationals. Pfeifer was second with a 4:51.34, lowering her lifetime best by more than three seconds. In third place was Ireland’s Shani Stallard with a 4:59.29.
Like Martin, Alex Lebed was after his lifetime best in the 400 IM, but his 4:25.67 was less than a second shy of his personal best, but good enough to win. Teammate Brennan Balogh was second with a 4:30.09 in the first of two championship final swims for him tonight, while Justin Ress placed third with a 4:31.20.
Despite a slow start, Michael Taylor was able to touch out John Shebat for the 100 backstroke title with a 56.20 to Shebat’s 56.33. Balogh, swimming less than 30 minutes after the 400 IM, placed third with a 58.00. The women’s 100 backstroke featured a similar close race, with Hannah Whiteley getting the win in 1:02.89. Lucie Nordmann, celebrating her 15th birthday today, finished second with a 1:02.93. Danielle Hill of Ireland (and the Larne team) was third with a 1:03.72. Hill’s time lowered the Irish junior record of 1:04.12 that she swam in yesterday’s semifinals.
Ian Finnerty never relinquished the top seed he had through three rounds of the 50 butterfly today. He held off two Irishmen to keep the American winning streak alive with a 25.12. Calum Bain of Cookstown was second with a 25.19 while 200 fly winner Brendan Hyland settled for third with a 25.23.
In the women’s 50 butterfly final, Caroline McTaggart also had a challenge from the Irish, but managed to eke out the win with a 27.02. Shauna O’Brien of UCD and Bethy Firth of Ards went 2-3 for Ireland with times of 27.19 and 27.62, respectively. Emma Reid, 16, set an Irish junior record in prelims with a 28.07, but could not approach that time again with a 28.20 in semifinals and a 28.53 in finals.
The U.S. team was without challenger in the 800 freestyle relays, sweeping the top three spots. The men’s “A” team posted a strong 7:33.69 for the win, followed by a 7:42.14 for the “B” team and 7:46.97 for the “C” team. On the women’s side, the “A” team swam in the outside lane but had no trouble winning with an 8:14.06. The “B” was second with an 8:22.66 while the “C” rounded out the top three with an 8:31.66.
Semifinal races were contested in four events today. Ireland will take the top two spots in the men’s 100 freestyle tomorrow, thanks to a 51.17 by Curtis Coulter of Ards and a 51.18 by David Prendergrast of UCD. The Americans will be represented by Mark McLaughlin (51.19), James Jones (51.64), Knox Auerbach (51.72) and James Murphy (51.74) in the final. Frans Johannessen of Denmark, the 200 free winner, rounded out the top five with a 51.76.
By contrast, the Americans claimed the top four slots in the women’s 100 free semifinals, led by a 56.22 from Alex Wooden. Katie Drabot (56.43), Megan Moroney (56.52) and McTaggart (56.66) complete the possible 1-2-3-4 sweep by the USA. The top Irish qualifier was Bethy Firth of Ards, who will be the fifth seed in the final with a 57.15. Only four Americans are allowed to swim in the A final, which left Zoe Avestruz (56.81), Ashley Volpenhein (57.53) and Casey Fanz (57.71) out of the final despite posting top-ten times.
Ethan Browne lowered his lifetime best in the 100 breaststroke twice today, swimming a 1:04.08 in prelims followed by a 1:03.08 in the semifinal. That qualifies Browne for the Olympic Trials in the event and makes him the target for tomorrow’s final. Alex Murphy of the UCD Irish team, the winner of the 50 breast, qualified second with a 1:03.62, while Finnerty qualified third with a 1:04.06 in between the semifinals and finals of the 50 butterfly. Matthew Salerno (1:04.44) and Ross Palazzo (1:04.84) will also represent the USA in the final, with the championship final rule leaving Brennan Pastorek out after a 1:05.69 was ninth overall and fifth among Americans.
In the women’s 100 breaststroke semifinals, the Americans took the top six spots. Olivia Anderson coasted to a 1:10.49 to lead the field, with Riley Scott (1:10.81), Alexandrea Preiss (1:11.18) and 50 breast winner Alexis Wenger (1:11.66) also making the final. Carly Cummings (1:12.06) and Ingrid Wall (1:12.36) will sit out the final. The top Irish swimmer in the semis was Mona McSharry of Marlins with a 1:12.74.
I like