Shane Ryan
Swimming
BIOGRAPHY
He has represented Ireland in three consecutive Olympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he competed in the 100m backstroke, reaching the semifinals and finishing 16th overall with a time of 54.35 seconds. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he swam in the same event, finishing 23rd in the heats with a time of 53.73 seconds. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he was part of Ireland’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team, swimming the freestyle leg as the team set a new national record of 3:33.81 and placed 11th in the heats.
Ryan has achieved significant success in international competition, winning gold in the 50m backstroke at the 2017 World University Games, a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke at the 2018 European Championships, and another bronze at the 2018 World Short Course Championships. He holds multiple Irish records, including a national best of 21.82 seconds in the 50m freestyle, set at the 2024 European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade.
His eligibility to represent Ireland comes from his father, Thomas, who emigrated from Portarlington, County Laois, while his mother, Mary Beth Bonner, also has Irish heritage. Ryan graduated from Penn State University with a degree in sports management and has been based in Ireland since before the Rio Olympics.
OTHER SWIMMING ATHLETES
SWIMMING NEWS
In The News – May 26th
Team Ireland Round-Up | Medals, Records, and Milestones Across Europe and the U.S. ATHLETICS | Gidey’s Breakthrough, Healy Shines, English and Coscoran Impress Efrem Gidey made history on Saturday evening in Pacé, France, becoming the first Irish athlete to win individual gold at the European 10,000m Cup. The 24-year-old surged ahead with just over [...]
Team Ireland Weekend Highlights, April 12–13, 2025
From Augusta to Dublin, Belgium to the Basque Country, Irish athletes produced standout performances across a range of Olympic sports this weekend. Rory McIlroy Completes Career Grand Slam Rory McIlroy delivered a defining moment for Irish sport this weekend, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament and becoming just the sixth golfer in history — and [...]
Top Results from the Weekend
9 March 2025; Sarah Healy of Ireland celebrates winning gold in the women's 3000m final on day four of the European Athletics Indoor Championships 2025 at the Omnisport Apeldoorn in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile A Golden Weekend for Team Ireland! A massive congratulations to our athletes on their incredible performances over the weekend! [...]
Nominations For RTE Sportsperson of the Year
Next Sunday evening, December 15th at 9:30 pm, the RTÉ Sport Awards 2024 will air live on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player. Hosted by Joanne Cantwell, Darragh Maloney, and Jacqui Hurley from Studio 4 in RTÉ, the event will celebrate Irish sporting excellence in front of an audience filled with the nation’s top athletes. [...]
SWIMMERS DANIEL WIFFEN AND MONA MCSHARRY ANNOUNCED AS CLOSING CEREMONY FLAGBEARERS
Double Olympic medallist Daniel Wiffen, and Olympic bronze medallist Mona McSharry have been announced as the Team Ireland Flagbearers for the Closing Ceremony of Paris 2024 tomorrow night (Sunday). Olympic gold and bronze medallist Wiffen, and Olympic bronze medallist McSharry both reacted with immense pride on discovering they had been selected to carry the Irish [...]
DAY 13 MORNING REPORT FROM TEAM IRELAND
Team Ireland’s women’s 4x400m relay team have made yet more history at these Paris Olympic Games by becoming the first women’s relay team ever to make an Olympic final, qualifying with a third place finish in their heat. Hurdler Sarah Lavin and 800m athlete Mark English both ran really well placing sixth in their respective semi-finals but missed out on the [...]