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RTÉ News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ellie McCartney and John Shortt progress to semi-finals at World Aquatics Championships
and John Shortt have progressed to the semi-finals in the women's 200m backstroke and the men's 200m backstroke respectively at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Later today, at 12.02pm Irish time, Ellen Walshe competes in the final of the 200m butterfly but before that, there were five Irish competitors in action during the morning session. Enniskillen swimmer McCartney placed third in her heat, clocking a time of 2:25.22 and qualifying for the semi-final as eighth fastest overall. Speaking after the race, McCartney said: "I'm over the moon. I think I take a lot of pride on the journey to get to the World Championships, I've dropped a lot of time in the 200m breast(stroke) this year, made it my main event over the 200m IM. "So being able to come here, having two A standard times, it's something I take a bit of pride in and now to progress further to the semi-final, it's just a happy ending to the long summer." McCartney, who claimed gold at the Under-23 European Championships in June, swims in her semi-final at 12.45pm Irish time this afternoon. Galway's Shortt finished fourth in his heat in the 200m backstroke, progressing to the semi-finals as the 14th fastest overall. The 18-year old clocked a time of 1:56.98, narrowly missing out on the Irish record of 1:56.61. "It felt really good, the first 100m I was smooth and controlled," said Shortt afterwards, who also reached the semi-finals at last year's World Championships in Doha. Shortt's backstroke semi-final is scheduled for 1.31pm this afternoon (Irish time). There was disappointment for Eoin Corby in the men's 200m breaststroke, clocking a time of 2:11.84 and finished 20th overall, five spots outside the qualifying places. Corby said afterwards, "I'm a bit disappointed. I gave it my best shot. I was a small bit off my PB. It's a bit annoying that my PB would have made it back, but yeah, I just need to come back better next year." In the 100m freestyle Danielle Hill touched in 56.59 seconds, finishing 37th overall and well outside the qualifying places. The Larne swimmer returns to the blocks on Friday for her main event, the 50m freestyle, an event she holds the Irish record in, in 24.68. Jake Passmore placed 27th overall from 66 divers in the 3M Springboard Preliminaries. The 2024 Olympian was just 14 points outside the top 18 places required for the semi-final with 360.60 points. Nonetheless, Passmore was satisfied with his performance in the context of a difficult year in which he has been ruled out of action for six months due to shoulder surgery. "Overall, can't complain today," Passmore said. "Not the best performance but I'm really pleased that despite the difficult year I've had, I've managed to stay competitive."
The Irish Sun
06-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Grace Davison breaks Irish record and bags bronze in 100m freestyle final at European Aquatics Junior Championships
GRACE DAVISON set a new national record as the Ards swimmer claimed bronze in the 100m freestyle final at the European Aquatics Junior Championships. The 17-year-old also advanced to today's 200m Individual Medley final in Samorin, Slovakia. 2 Grace Davison of Ards broke the Irish record and claimed bronze at the Europeans in the 100m freestyle 2 The 17-year-old also advanced to Monday's 200m Individual Medley final Galway teen John Shortt put in another impressive display, qualifying for the 100m backstroke final — his third decider of the week. In the 100m freestyle final, Davison was fifth turning into the back 50 metres, but the Paris Olympian battled on to touch the wall in 54.80. And by pipping Britain's Theodora Taylor by .04 of a second, she retained the European Junior bronze medal she won in Vilnius last year. She also set a new Irish senior record, beating Danielle Hill's 2022 time of 54.87. read more on sport Despite only having an hour between races, Davison secured a place in today's 200m IM final as third-fastest qualifier, clocking 2:15.02. She said: 'The last thing my coach Curtis Coulter said to me before going into the call room was, 'If you knew you'd be walking in here a couple of months ago, you'd be happy'. 'I've had a hard year in terms of sickness and not enjoying racing, I knew I hadn't the training behind me to go into trials and swim well. 'Those who know me know I like to throw in a good performance, so that was hard. Most read in Other Sports 'It's been an uphill battle from there but I'm so glad I didn't give up. I now have a medal and I'm in another final.' On setting a new Irish record, Davison added: 'I'm so pleased. I'm 17 and to have an Irish senior record, I'm really proud of myself.' 17% of Brits can't swim - and a third don't feel confident in the water, survey shows Davison has also secured qualification times in the 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m IM for the World Junior Championships in Bucharest next month. Shortt, meanwhile, will compete in tonight's 100m backstroke final as second-fastest qualifier after he won his semi with a time of 54.97. The 18-year-old, who won silver in this event last year, said: 'I feel good, it's exactly what my coach wanted me to do.' Shortt won bronze in the 200m backstroke final on Friday night. He added: 'I'm just really enjoying my racing. 'The lads gave me a good race, which is exactly what you want.'
The Irish Sun
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I knew I had it in me' – Irish teen star dreaming of precious memories at 2028 Olympics after missing out on Paris
JOHN SHORTT has taken to reading about someone's obsession with something 'precious' to avoid the same thing happening to him. The 18-year-old national 200m backstroke record-holder is one of Ireland's hopes to be Lord of the Rings at the LA Olympics in 2028. 3 Swimmer John Shortt poses for a portrait during an OFI Media Conference at the Olympic House on the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile 3 John Shortt celebrates swimming a national record in the men's 200m backstroke during day three of the Irish Open Swimming Championships Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile But he had a couple of accursed years as he came up short in his quest to go the Shortt secured bronze in the final of the 200m backstroke at the European Aquatics Junior Championships in Slovakia last night in a time of 1:58.45, claiming Ireland's first medal in Samorin. And the National Centre Limerick swimmer told SunSport: 'I probably put a bit too much pressure on myself to get to Paris, because I knew I had it in me. 'I didn't enjoy training and racing as much as I should have because everything was based around this one meet, to try to get this time. Read More on Olympics 'So it was, 'Oh that training session, it wasn't Olympic standard, that race , that won't get me to the Olympics'. 'There was a lot of mental stuff and when I got to the trials , I fell apart because I couldn't handle the mental pressure I put on myself.' At those trials at the National Aquatic Centre, he swam an Irish record of 1:57.90 — just four-tenths of a second outside the Olympic qualifying time. Shortt continued: 'The time itself was quite good, it was very good, I supposed I'm referring to mentally. Most read in Other Sports 'I felt bad for my dad more than anything else. He's generally the one who brings me to competitions , staying in hotels and stuff. 'We'd never really had this level of a problem but when we got there, I just wasn't myself at all. That was a strange competition.' Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley arrives at Wimbledon But faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens and the 14 months since have seen Shortt make some tweaks. He thinks about the mental side more as he takes the straight road from juniors to seniors. He explained: 'Training is quite . . . not easy, it's so physical and you are doing 5km or 6km a session. But you can get through it. 'But once you get to a competition, it's the complete opposite. You're waiting around all day to swim a race that is less than two minutes long, some even less than 22 seconds long. 'You're waiting. None of it is physical. It's how you talk to yourself. 'I learned a massive lesson last year and have brought a lot of it into this season. Just keep it more light-hearted, not to be as serious — just having more fun.' That is where 'precious' comes in. Shortt added: 'Reading books is quite good. I'll sound like such a nerd but I've started reading Lord of the Rings. 'One of the boys recommended it. I'd seen the movies — we're all secretly nerds — and I've just started reading the books just before bed. 'I've realised, like everybody, I'm spending too much time on the phone, so a half-hour before bed, I put the phone on charge and read a few pages. 'I'm getting through it very slowly. nice to go to a place where you're reading about wizards and all sorts of stuff.' AMERICAN DREAM The quest is He said: 'It was extremely difficult, especially for my mam. It's not normal, sending your kid away that young. But I didn't do it all by myself, I was in digs, living with a few other college 'The decision to go to Limerick when I did was a no-brainer really. My old club, Bluefin in Galway — it was amazing, I loved it — but it would have been very hard to keep progressing. 'It was a small pool , a 20-metre pool. I needed to be with the top guys, it was an easy decision.' And it has paid off for the 6ft 4in backstroke specialist. The Galway man got his PB down to 1:56.61 last April at the He said: 'When I was 16 I was, 'I'm swimming really good here'. I wasn't amazing but it was good for that time. 'And then it's hard to know how do I keep moving because I feel I'm doing brilliant at the minute. But then you naturally keep improving. 'And I suppose I didn't know if this time it was possible until April 23 when we did World Championship trials and I'd gone sub-two minutes in the 200 back. 'That was kind of what kick-started that I could get to this level. We worked really hard to get to this point. There's still more improving. There's never a perfect swimmer. You can keep getting better.' That has been shown as by lowering his time last April, he smashed his Irish senior and junior record, the championship record and was under the qualification time for this month's World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Being Lord of the Rings looks closer and closer by the day. 3 John Shortt of National Centre Limerick, Bluefin, competes in the men's 200m backstroke during day three of the Irish Open Swimming Championships Credit: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
RTÉ News
04-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ireland off the mark as John Shortt claims European junior bronze
Defending champion John Shortt secured bronze in the 200m backstroke final to claim Ireland's first medal at the 2025 European Junior Championships in Samorin, Slovakia. The Limerick teenager, competing in the middle lane, was involved in a thrilling race, going stroke for stroke throughout the four lengths of the pool with Zsombor Racz of Hungary and Italy's Daniele del Signore. Shortt, whose primary focus is the World Aquatics Championships later this month, led the race turning into the final length and into the last 50 metres, eventually touching the wall in 1:58.45 with Racz taking gold ahead of del Signore. It marks a third European junior medal for Shortt. "I won't lie, I'm disappointed," he said afterwards. "I wanted to win that, and I didn't, but that happens, it's very hard. The first 100m was good, I really smashed off the lane rope in the third 50, kind of lost my balance from there, this is sport, it's not a constant high." won her semi-final to advance to the 100m freestyle final as second fastest qualifier.
Irish Independent
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
John Shortt takes centre stage for Ireland at the 2025 European Aquatics Championships
Galway native Shortt headed into tonight's semi-final as the man to beat following his time of 1:59.41 this morning. He put on another fine performance for a packed house, setting the standard from the onset by taking the lead and holding it throughout fourth lengths of the pool. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer touched the wall in 1:58.12 to advance as the fastest swimmer for Friday night's final. The defending champion will face stiff competition for his crown, with Hungarian Zsombor Racz winning the first semi-final closely behind the Irishman's time in 1:58.91, which is sure to serve up a titanic battle in Samorin. Speaking directly after the race, Shortt said: 'I'm pretty shattered after that, I'm very proud to make another final and to be first going in is a big positive, not too happy with the time, but I know what I need to improve to get better tomorrow.' He added: 'It's nice to have a bit of a target on my back, there's a few guys in there who are really fast, so it's going to be exciting.' Hamilton rounded off an impressive day in the water appearing on the blocks on two occasions this evening to secure two top 16 places. Hamilton finished 13th after his time of 54.08 in the 100m butterfly. Shortly before that the 17-year-old came through one length of the pool in 23.11 to place 16th in the 50m freestyle. Speaking in the mixed zone, he said: 'It's not quite the time I wanted, but at the end of the day, I made it to the semi-final and it was a pretty solid swim, I improved on the technical aspects of the swim from earlier in the day.' Hamilton continued: 'It's brilliant, I'm not used to it but to have two semi-final swims on one night is brilliant. The day is gone better than I thought it would, I didn't think it would go that well. Hopefully, there's more to come.' Day four will see another busy day for the Irish with seven swimmers in the water, including Grace Davison in the 100m freestyle, the same event where she won bronze at the 2024 iteration of this competition. Later in the day, Shortt will look to defend his 200m backstroke title.
