Active South Dublin May Sports Star: Ellen Walshe

ELLEN Walshe starred at the Irish Open Championships and Olympic Trials as the Templeogue swimmer secured a second Olympic Qualification Time in the 400m Individual Medley in May.

Walshe, already qualified for the Games in the 200m Individual Medley, swam an impressive 4:38.05 in the 400m IM, just one tenth of a second outside the Irish Record of 4:37.94 she set three weeks ago at the Leinster Championships.

Ellen smashed one of Ireland’s longest standing Irish Records at the Leinster Swimming Championships at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre.

The in-form Walshe clocked 4:37.94 in the 400m Individual Medley, knocking over a second off the 1996 record of 4:39.18 held by Michelle Smith.

The swim was Walshe’s first venture under the 4.40 mark, with her previous best sitting at 4:41.30 from the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour in Barcelona in 2023.

And only two weeks ago, Ellen posted her second fastest time ever in the 200m Medley to finish fourth in the A Final in 2:11.77 at the Sette Colli Meet in Rome.

‘It’s nice to be back down to 2:11, coming into Paris it’s a nice place to be. It would have been good to be quicker because it’s going to be quick to get into the semi-final in Paris, but going out there, it was a little bit windy I think, so 2:11 it’s a nice job”.

The Active South Dublin Sports Awards are run in association with The Echo, and supported by South Dublin County Council and The Plaza Hotel, Tallaght.