Ireland enjoyed another remarkable night at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, Poland, as Daniel Wiffen claimed a second gold medal in the 1500m Freestyle and Evan Bailey captured bronze in the 200m Freestyle, adding to John Shortt’s 200m Backstroke gold and Wiffen’s bronze in the 400m Freestyle earlier in the week.
At the halfway point in the competition, Ireland sits in an impressive fourth on the medal table.
Olympic champion Wiffen delivered a tactically perfect defence of his 1500m Freestyle title. Sitting just behind Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany for the majority of the race, he surged past in the final 100 metres to touch in 14:13.96. Sarkany secured silver in 14:15.51, with Germany’s Florian Wellbrock third in 14:19.26. Wiffen said the victory was the product of resilience and self-belief.
“I’m so happy, I went through so many emotions in that race,” said Wiffen. “At eight hundred, I thought I was done… if I’m going to go for it, I’m going to have to hammer it the last two hundred metres. Honestly, that finish just shows the work I’ve been putting into this.”
Reflecting on defending his title, he added, “I’ve lost one, I’ve defended one, I’ve got one more. I hope to defend that one… It’s amazing to get my first title defence.” Wiffen returns on Friday for the heats of the 800m Freestyle, where he is the long-course Olympic champion and world record holder.
Soon after Wiffen’s gold, Bailey powered to his first international podium, storming from an outside lane to secure bronze in the 200m Freestyle. Ranked thirteenth after the heats and seventh after the semi-final, he clocked 1:41.48 to break his third Irish record in two days. Great Britain’s Duncan Scott took gold in 1:40.54, with teammate Jack McMillan taking silver.
“I’m still shocked,” said Bailey. “I knew I was in with a chance, but I couldn’t see it happening. I’ve wanted an international podium so badly all these years… to finally do it on a senior stage is just incredible.”
Bailey competes again on Friday in the 100m Freestyle heats.
There was further success in the evening session as Ellie McCartney advanced as top seed for Friday’s 200m Breaststroke Final after a superb personal best of 2:18.81. Only McCartney and Britain’s Angharad Evans broke the 2:19 barrier.
“I’m really excited, I’ve never been in this position at a senior meet,” said McCartney. “Hopefully, I can just manage the emotions and try performing better tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, European 200m Backstroke champion John Shortt continued his outstanding form, breaking the Irish Senior and Junior Record with 50.16 in the 100m Backstroke semi-final. He progresses eighth overall to Friday’s final.
“It’s been a busy few days,” said Shortt. “Tonight was just about getting the job done. It’s a different race tactically… there’s only 0.6 between me and first, so anything can happen.”
In the 100m Individual Medley Final, Ellen Walshe finished seventh in 58.62, her second fastest time. With a demanding schedule ahead across the 200m IM, 200m Butterfly and 400m IM, she said she will “take a race at a time.”
Eoin Corby produced another standout swim in the 200m Breaststroke semi-finals, breaking his own Irish record with 2:05.89, placing sixteenth overall. “I tried something a bit different,” he said. “Got a PB, so I can’t be too disappointed.”
Friday will also see Bailey joined by Cormac Rynn, Matthew Hamilton and Adam Bradley in the 100m Freestyle heats, with Rosalie Phelan lining up in the women’s event.
Across the Atlantic at the US Open Championships in Texas, Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry opened her long-course season strongly, topping the 50m Breaststroke heats in 30.80. The Sligo swimmer returns for the final overnight.
Image Credit: Swim Ireland and Inpho Photography
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