Irish swimmers delivered three gold and a silver medal at the LEN European Under 23 Swimming Championships 2023 at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre to end the opening night of competition on Friday. Mona McSharry, Ellen Walshe and Daniel Wiffen all clinched gold medals with Walshe also adding silver to her collection.
Mona McSharry got the finals of the LEN Dublin European U23 Championships 2023 off to the perfect start as she secured the first ever medal of the inaugural LEN U23 Championships in front of her home support in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke Final.
Ellen Walshe had an outstanding night in the pool as she was crowned European U23 Champion in the 200m individual Medley as well as winning 100m Butterfly silver.
Daniel Wiffen electrified the Irish crowd in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle final as he produced a world class performance to win Ireland’s third gold medal, recording the 8th fastest time ever by a European over the distance. Wiffen lead from the very first 50m length and never relinquished the lead over the following 29 as he flirted with both World and European records at different stages of his swim. Wiffen cruised home to win gold in 14:35.79, just outside his best time of 14:34.91, after an extraordinary performance in front of a raucous home attendance.
A perfect start to the opening night.
On Saturday, Mona McSharry and Ellen Walshe collected more European U23 Championship Titles on day two in Dublin, while Daniel Wiffen added silver to the gold medal he won on Friday, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre.
Mona McSharry opened day two of the LEN European U23 Championships, as she did with the first, with a stunning swim in the 100m Breaststroke to claim a second gold medal in a brilliant battle with the USA’s Kaitlyn Dobler.
Ellen Walshe collected her third medal of the meet in the 400m Individual Medley, claiming gold and the European Title in 4:42.37, her third fastest ever swim in the event.
Daniel Wiffen closed the night on Saturday for Team Ireland with a silver medal in the 400m Freestyle. Wiffen went hard to lead out the field for the first 200m of the race, with Bulgaria’s Petar Mitson, taking over at the halfway mark. Mitson, the World Junior Record holder in the event, maintained that lead to win gold in 3:46.16
Sunday, Mona McSharry in her final year competing as an Under 23, walks away with a hat-trick of gold medals after winning the 200m Breaststroke this evening, while Daniel Wiffen added another silver medal to the gold (1500m) and silver (400m) he won earlier, he also won best male performance. To close the weekend, in a stunning display across three day from the whole team and never been done before, Ireland have topped the final medal table at the LEN U23 European Swimming Championships.
Mona McSharry completes the hat-trick at the LEN Under 23 European Swimming Championships. Sligo’s McSharry opened Sunday’s finals, like every night this weekend, with a stellar win in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke.
Daniel Wiffen collected his third medal of these championships in the 800m Freestyle, claiming silver in a time of 7:45.59. Wiffen, who is the current European Record Holder in this event started extremely well by staying in touch with his record pace. Ultimately, the final 300m caught up with the Armagh swimmer and he relinquished the lead to Germany’s Sven Schwarz who finished in 7:41.77.
Ellen Walshe closed out her competition by finishing fourth in the final of the Women’s 50m Butterfly with a new personal best time of 26.64, narrowly missing a bronze medal by just 0.38 of a second.
