Team Ireland Names Largest Swim Team for Tokyo 2020
Nine Irish Swimmers to Compete in Olympics
Team Ireland has officially selected the Swimming team who will compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Nine Irish swimmers are set to compete across fourteen events, becoming the largest swim team that Ireland has ever fielded in an Olympic Games. The swimmers will be in action in the newly built Tokyo Aquatics Centre from Saturday 24 July – Sunday 1 August 2021.
The strength and depth of Irish swimming has been on display over the past number of years, culminating this year with the ultimate qualification of six swimmers who have achieved the FINA A time across their events, with many more coming agonisingly close to the required standard to compete for Team Ireland in Tokyo 2020.
Swimmers were faced with the first opportunity to achieve the standard in 2019, when Darragh Greene qualified in the 100m Breaststroke at the World Championships, the remaining five swimmers Rio Olympian Shane Ryan, Mona McSharry, Daniel Wiffen, Danielle Hill and Ellen Walshe showed their class by coming into form just in time for the Games, recording personal bests and FINA A times at the Tokyo Trials and Swim Ireland Performance Meet in April and June. The Team Ireland Olympic quota spot in the Men’s 4 X 200m Freestyle Relay was confirmed following the close of rankings in June 2021.
Speaking about selection ahead of his first Olympic Games, Greene said,
“The Olympics have been something that I have dreamt about for a long time, and it is a real honour to be officially selected to compete for Team Ireland in Tokyo. It has taken a lot of work to get to here, and to be surrounded by a strong team of swimmers makes it all the more special. The standard of racing in Ireland is so high across the board, and it’s great to be finally saying that we are going to Tokyo!”
Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Tricia Heberle said,
“The past few weeks have seen the numbers of qualified swimmers double, which has been very exciting. They are going into the Games with the biggest team ever, and it’s especially encouraging seeing the number of FINA A standard swimmers qualifying. The past year has been tough for everyone, but seeing how our swimmers handled that first lockdown, coming out of it producing personal bests and national records, in challenging circumstances has been a true test of resilience.”
Jon Rudd, National Performance Director and Team Leader for the Games said,
“This has been the longest ever Olympic cycle and qualification period that the sport has faced. To have nine swimmers amongst an eleven member aquatics team for the Games is an excellent outcome for our sport and all those involved. A double Trials and a protracted relay appeal meant that many of our athletes have not known until very recently whether they would or could be selected to this team, an uncertainty that has been difficult for everyone, especially those who narrowly missed out. The standard of swimming in Ireland is growing, and without all these athletes striving for improvement, we would not be where we are today, fielding the largest ever swim team for Ireland.”
TEAM IRELAND SWIMMERS:
Darragh Greene
Danielle Hill
Brendan Hyland
Finn McGeever
Jack McMillan
Mona McSharry
Shane Ryan
Ellen Walshe
Daniel Wiffen
Team Ireland now consists of 88 officially selected athletes, with over 110 athlete spots confirmed across nineteen sports. There are four final team announcements to come over the coming days, the official closing date for registering athletes was 4pm on Monday 5 July 2021. The Olympic Games in Tokyo will run from the 23rd July to 8th August 2021.
More about the athletes:
Olympic Swimming Team – Tokyo 2020
| Name | Home Programme | Coach | Events Entered |
| Darragh Greene | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson | 100m Breaststroke 200m Breaststroke |
| Danielle Hill | Larne SC | Peter Hill | 100m Backstroke 50m Freestyle |
| Brendan Hyland | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson | 200m Butterfly 4x200m Freestyle Relay |
| Finn McGeever | National Centre (Limerick) | John Szaranek | 4x200m Freestyle Relay |
| Jack McMillan | Bangor SC | Paul Dennis | 4x200m Freestyle Relay |
| Mona McSharry | University of Tennessee | Matt Kredich | 100m Breaststroke 200m Breaststroke |
| Shane Ryan | National Centre (Dublin) | Ben Higson | 100m Backstroke 100m Butterfly 4x200m Freestyle Relay |
| Ellen Walshe | Templeogue SC | Brian Sweeney | 200m Individual Medley 100m Butterfly |
| Daniel Wiffen | Loughborough University | Andi Manley | 800m Freestyle 1500m Freestyle |
Name: Darragh Greene
Age: 25
Club: National Centre Dublin / Longford Swimming Club
Coach: Ben Higson
Hometown: Newtownforbes, Longford
Main Events: 100m/200m Breaststroke
Olympic Consideration Times Achieved: 100m/200m Breaststroke
Notable Achievements
2021 Olympic Games Pre-Validation
2021 European Aquatics Championships
2020 International Swimming League
2019 European SC Championships: Finalist
2019 World Championships: Semi-Final 50m Breaststroke
2018 World Short Course Championships
2018 European Aquatics Championships:
100m Breaststroke Semi-Finalist (8th)
First Irishman under 1:00 in 100m Breaststroke
2018 & 2019 National Breaststroke Champion in 50m, 100m, 200m
Irish Senior Record Holder: 50m,100m, 200m Breaststroke
Name: Danielle Hill
Age: 21
Club: Larne Swimming Club
Coach: Peter Hill
Hometown: Newtownabbey, Antrim
Main Events: 50m/100m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke
Olympic Consideration Time Achieved: 100m Backstroke
Notable Achievements
2021 European Aquatics Championships
2019 European SC Championships: Finalist
2019 Irish National Champion: 50m Freestyle, 50m, 100m Backstroke
2018 Commonwealth Games Finalist
Irish Senior Record Holder: 50m, 100m Freestyle, 50m, 100m Backstroke
Name: Brendan Hyland
Age: 26
Club: National Centre Dublin / Tallaght Swimming Club
Coach: Ben Higson
Hometown: Knocklyon, Dublin
Main Event: 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Notable Achievements
2021 European Championships: Finalist
2019 Performance Swimmer of the Year
2019 World Championships:
200m Butterfly Semi-Final (11th)
2019 European SC Championships: Finalist
2018 World Short Course Championships:
200m Butterfly (10th)
2018 European Championships:
200m Butterfly Semi-Finalist (9th)
2017 World LC Championship Qualifier
Irish Senior Record Holder: 200m IM – 100m, 200m Butterfly
7 x 100m and 8 x 200m Butterfly Irish National Champion
Name: Mona McSharry
Age: 20
Club: University Of Tennessee/ Marlins Swimming Club
Coach: Matt Kredich
Hometown: Grange, Sligo
Main Events: 100m/200m Breaststroke
Olympic Consideration Time Achieved: 100m Breaststroke
Notable Achievements
2021 European Aquatics Championships
2019 Bronze Medal European SC Championships (50m breaststroke)
2018 European Championships
2018 World Schools Games Champion: 50m, 100m Breaststroke
2017 Euro SC Semi-Finalist
2017 World Junior Champion 100m Breaststroke
2017 European Junior Champion 50m, 100m Breaststroke
Irish Senior Record Holder: 50m, 100m, 200m Breastroke & 50m Butterfly
Name: Finn McGeever
Age: 20
Club: National Centre Limerick / Limerick Swimming Club
Coach: John Szaranek
Hometown: Ballina, Tipperary
Main Event: 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Notable Achievements
2021 European Championships: Finalist
2018 European Junior Championships
Irish Senior Record holder: 400m Freestyle
Name: Jack McMillan
Age: 21
Club: Bangor Swimming Club
Coach: Paul Dennis
Hometown: Belfast, Antrim
Main Event: 4x200m Freestyle Relay
Notable Achievements
2021 European Championships: Finalist
2019 European SC Championships: Finalist
2019 World Championships
2019 European SC Championships: Finalist
2017 & 2018 European Junior Championships
2018 World Schools Games: Gold 200m Freestyle, Silver 100m Freestyle
2017 Commonwealth Youth Games
Irish Senior Record holder: 200m Freestyle
Name: Shane Ryan
Age: 26
Club: National Centre Dublin / NAC Swimming Club
Coach: Ben Higson
Hometown: Pennsylvania USA | Irish hometown: Portarlington
Main Events: 100m Backstroke/100m Butterfly
Olympic Consideration Time Achieved: 100m Backstroke
Notable Achievements
2021 European Aquatics Championships
2019 & 2020 International Swimming League – signed up to Toronto Titans for 2021 season
2019 World Championships
2019 European SC Championships: Bronze Medal 50m Backstroke
2018 World SC Championships: Bronze 50m Backstroke
Name: Ellen Walshe
Age: 19
Club: Templeogue Swimming Club
Coach: Brian Sweeney
Hometown: Templeogue, Dublin
Main Event: 200m Individual Medley
Notable Achievements
2021 European Championships
2019 World Championships
2017 World Junior Championships
2018 Finalist European Junior Championships
2018 Gold Medal World School Games (200m butterfly)
2015 Silver Medal European Youth Olympic Games (100m butterfly)
Irish Senior Record holder in: 200m Individual Medley, 100m Butterfly
Name: Daniel Wiffen
Age: 19
Club: Loughborough University / Larne Swim Club
Coach: Andi Manley
Hometown: Magheralin, Co. Down
Main Events: 800m and 1500m Freestyle
Olympic Consideration Time Achieved: 800m Freestyle
Notable Achievements
2021 European Championships
2019 European SC Championships
2019 World Junior Championships
2019 European Junior Championships
Irish Senior Record Holder: 800m and 1500m Freestyle