Swim Ireland will hold their trials for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from 20-24 April at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin.
The five-day meet will replace the 2021 Irish Open Swimming Championships and will also offer an opportunity to qualify for the European Championships in Budapest in May, the World University Games in Chengdu, China, in August and the European juniors which are scheduled for July but with a venue yet to be confirmed.
The competition on the Sport Ireland Campus will comprise a full Olympic programme with heats, semi-finals, and finals in all 50m, 100m and 200m events and heats and finals across 400m, 800m and 1500m.
National Aquatic Centre: Photo Courtesy: Swim Ireland
In a press release Swim Ireland say that the trials will be open to Performance athletes currently training in recognised onshore training bubbles in National Centre Dublin, National Centre Limerick and at Bangor Aurora, as well as those identified athletes of similar standing who are living and training offshore.
Brendan Hyland, the triple national record holder, is just 0.07secs off a qualification time in the 200 fly as he looks to book a spot on his first Olympic team.
He said:
“The addition of semi-finals gives us an extra chance to perform at our best and ultimately my aim is to nail the 200m Butterfly time (1:56.48) at the start of the meet. That’s always been the plan for a long time now.”
Swim Ireland National Performance Director Jon Rudd added:
“As we continue to deal with the challenge that COVID presents us, we felt that it was important to provide athletes with the best possible opportunity to qualify for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and/or for other Irish national teams this summer whilst recognising that a lot of the athletes that would normally partake in this competition will not feature as they have not been able to train and prepare for a number of weeks.
“The event will be live streamed, and our swimming community will be able to join us each day to cheer on those looking to represent their nation this summer and we believe that the balance that this gives us in April is one which will be fully understood and supported by those involved in Irish swimming.
“For those who are not able to train right now, please remain patient, as your day will come.”
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