Olympian swimmer Ellen Walshe makes a splash at sports awards

IRISH Olympian and history-making world championship medallist Ellen Walshe was named the Active South Dublin Sport Star of the Year 2023.

Run in association with The Echo, South Dublin County Council and the Plaza Hotel, Ellen said after been named the Sport Star of the Year: “I’m delighted to win the award.

“It’s my very first time to win an award like this.

“I’m honestly very grateful, it’s a great way to remember 2023 by winning this award.

“It’s a very special award for me to win.

“It was a great occasion celebrating sport and meeting so many other sports stars on the night,” said Ellen.

The Templeogue Swimming Club member enjoyed a superb year becoming the first Irish swimmer to secure an Olympic qualification time for Paris this summer.

Active South Dublin Sport Star of the Year Ellen Walshe is with William O’Connor, News Editor, The Echo, Mayor Alan Edge and Elaine Leech, Director of Services, Housing, Social & Community Development, SDCC

Ellen swam in a time of 2:10.92 in the 200m Individual Medley (IM) in Fukuoka, Japan last July after the 22- year-old had entered the 200m IM semi-finals in sixteenth place.

She quickly moved up the rankings finishing fourth in her semi-final and in ninth place overall in a time of 2:10.92.

That time wiped over a second off her Irish Record of 2:12.02 and was well inside the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Time (OQT) of 2:11.47.

This was followed up in August 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 at the LEN U23 European Swimming Championships.

The Templeogue swimmer came out of these championships with two golds and a silver, an amazing feat considering she had only returned from the World Aquatics Championships in Japan.

In December, Ellen added her name to the list of now ten Irish medallists at the European Short Course Championships after she won bronze in the 400m Individual Medley.

The Templeogue swimmer clocked 4:29.64, just six tenths of a second off silver medallist Freya Colbert (4:29.04) of Great Britain.

“After coming back from injury and securing these times it was great,” Ellen told The Echo.

“It was great to qualify so early for the Olympics. It means it takes the pressure off qualifying, and I can focus on my training.

“I will nearly have one year of training before the games begin since I qualified.

“I will be racing again in six-week’s time, and then every two weeks after that so it’s going to be busy leading up to Paris.

“I’m obviously delighted to have made the team.

“My family will all be going to Paris and there should be a great atmosphere as it’s so close to Ireland”.

Ellen puts much of her success down to her club Templeogue and coach Brian Sweeney.

She joined the club when she was seven-years-old and started teaching swimming at the club around six-years-ago, something she is really proud of and still continues to do today.

“The club have done so much for me.

“You build up a friendship and bond with so many and my coach Brian has been so supportive.

“It’s great to be back training in your own environment with my coach and I’m now just focusing on the games.

“I teach lessons at the club when I have time and it’s nice to build-up a nice bond with the younger members.

“It’s great to see the club progress and they are all looking forward to the build up to the Olympic Games”.