Limerick siblings shine at European swimming championships in Slovakia

LIMERICK swimming siblings Denis and Lucy O’Brien embellished their standing at the European Aquatics Junior Championships in Slovakia.

Denis returns from Samorin event with two new personal bests and was part of a replay team to set a new Irish record.

Denis and his young sister, Lucy each had four swims in Slovakia.

Denis, who was competing at his second European Junior Championships, set the tone for a record breaking Irish team with a personal best on the opening day. Competing in the 200m freestyle, the National Centre Limerick swimmer was the fastest of the Irish swimmers in a personal best of 1:51.80 on Tuesday, July 1.

The Mungret teen was back in the pool on Friday in the 800m freestyle and went 8:25.99, just over a second shy of his personal best. 

“I feel good, I’m happy with the swim, would have liked to be a bit faster but given the conditions, I’m happy to race with the Ireland gear on against some top swimmers. It means everything, training all year around, just to get a swim at these competitions, it means a lot to stand up with the green jacket, hat on and represent your country on the international stage,” said O’Brien after the 800m freestyle.

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On Saturday, Denis was a member of the Irish men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, along with John Shortt, Luca Power, and Sean Donnellan. They combined for a new Irish junior record of 7:33.36 which stood since 2018.

Earlier this Sunday, O’Brien completed his championships in the 400m freestyle and he broke the 4-minute barrier for the first time, going 3:59.87 to set a new personal best. 

“I feel amazing, first-time sub-4 minutes, it’s a very hard barrier to break and I’ve sat on it for a long time now, I’m happy to have it smashed and looking forward to the future. It’s a privilege to race in these conditions, I’m very proud to be Irish and to be able to stand up on the block and represent my country on the national stage. I’m very happy with how the competition played out under these harsh conditions (weather), it can be hard to stay focused, so I’m happy overall,” he said.

O’Brien’s 16 year old sister Lucy was one of the youngest members of the 17 strong Irish squad at the championships.

Her first swim was on Wednesday, in the 100m butterfly and the Mungret Community College student swam a time of 1:02.87, just outside her lifetime best.

On Saturday, she had two swims - firstly for the women’s 50m butterfly, clocking 28.05, just outside of her personal best (28:00). There was a quick turnaround for the 200m individual medley, finishing in a time of 2:25.47.

“It wasn’t bad, it knew it was going to be hard with the double, I don’t really mind that time, it felt good. It’s quite warm, it can be draining by the end of the week. I was really excited, I didn’t really mind how the performances went, it was more about getting in and enjoying it,” she said.

Lucy concluded her championships this Sunday when joining Adeline Cloutier, Naimh Connery and Ava Jones to compete in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, clocking a combined 4:19.80.