Hyland, Coyne and Walshe smash swimming records
By Hayden Moore
NATIONAL records were obliterated by local competitors Brendan Hyland, Niamh Coyne and Ellen Walshe at the recent Irish Short Course Swimming Championships in the National Aquatic Centre.
The four-day event brought an end to a period of two weeks that saw 55 records broken by Irish swimmers.
Ellen Walshe and Niamh Coyne embrace (Photo by David Kiberd)
Tallaght Swim Club and National Centre swimmer Brendan Hyland set the new national standard last Thursday on the first day of the event when he shaved 0.2 seconds off the previous record that was set just two weeks ago by James Brown.
Hyland clocked a new national record in the Men 200m individual medley when he swam 1:56.74 to the tip of the podium.
Also on the opening day of the tournament, Ellen Walshe won the Women 200m butterfly in 2:09.94 – which proved a sign of things to come for the Templeogue swimmer.
On the following day the 18-year-old shattered the Women’s 50m butterfly record in the final in a time of 26.65, beating the previous record set by herself in November.
Walshe continued to star on Day Three when she became the first swimmer to break 59 seconds in the 100m Butterfly final, registering a time of 58:81.
In the Men’s equivalent, Hyland broke his own national record that he set last year in a time of 51:38.
Eight more records came tumbling down on the final day of the championships on Sunday night, with Tallaght Swim Club and National Centre competitor Niamh Coyne crashing through the 200m Breathstroke record that was set by 2016 Olympian Fiona Doyle.
Taking just under a second off the 2015 time set by Doyle, Coyne touched in for gold at 2:23.64.
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