Larne’s Danielle Hill tonight earned her first Olympic Consideration Time at the Swim Ireland Performance Meet when setting a new Irish Senior Record of 1:00.18 in the 100m Backstroke Final.
Hill, coached by Peter Hill at Larne Swimming Club, needed to meet or swim faster than the FINA ‘A’ time of 1:00.25 to earn an Olympic Consideration for Tokyo 2020 and had hit 1:00.34 at the Irish National Team Trials in April, lowering her own Irish Senior Record at the time.
Powering through the final 50m at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre on Thursday evening, the 22-year-old bettered that time again, setting potentially the most important Irish Senior Record of her career.
She said: “Anyone who knows me, knows I am not an emotional person. I don’t show emotion often, so these tears are real, and it wasn’t just about me tonight, that was for the whole Larne team.
“They have had the toughest 12 months, and when we joined back in with them, they treated Conor [Ferguson] and I like we were normal, and it was so nice to be around them again. That was most definitely for those guys.”
She added: “I’m so relieved, and so happy. I know there is a faster time in there, but it still did the job.”
As well as 100m Backstroke, Hill also owns the 50m and 100m Freestyle Irish Senior Records and 50m Backstroke. Her time of 25.19 in 50m Freestyle makes her Ireland’s fastest ever female swimmer.
National Centre Limerick’s Eoin Corby came closest to joining Hill on the Olympic Consideration list, posting his first sub 60s 100m Breaststroke in a time of 59.99. It was agonisingly close to the Tokyo 2020 FINA ‘A’ time of 59.93 for the 19-year-old.
Bangor Swimming Club’s Jack McMillan had gone closest to an Olympic Consideration Time in the morning heats in the 200m Freestyle, swimming 1:47.11 in search of 1:47.02, but could not better that this evening, winning the Final in 1:47.26.
The action at the Swim Ireland Performance Meet continues at 10am on Friday morning, when Calum Bain will make his bid for Olympic Consideration in 50m Freestyle.
Olympic Consideration Times Achieved
(Team Selections will be made at a later date)
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Tokyo, Japan, 23rd July – 8th August 2011
Danielle Hill (100m Backstroke), Darragh Greene (100m Breaststroke, 200m Breaststroke), Shane Ryan (100m Backstroke), Daniel Wiffen (800m Freestyle), Mona McSharry (100m Breaststroke)
