Walshe qualifies for Olympics with record-breaking swim

ELLEN Walshe has secured a spot on the plane to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next summer, after hitting the qualification time with a record-breaking swim at the World Aquatics Championships.

Templeogue native Walshe is the first Irish swimmer to secure an Olympic Qualification Time for Paris 2024 with a rapid 2:10.92 swim in the 200m Individual Medley (IM) in Fukuoka, Japan on Sunday.

The 21-year-old, who entered the 200m IM semi-finals in sixteenth place, moved up the rankings finishing fourth in her semi-final and in ninth place overall in a time of 2:10.92.

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

The University of Tennessee athlete had to dig deep before the race to stay on track, and produced a race of staggering proportions.

“It was hard this morning because you gave it 100 per cent from the start and you didn’t quite get what you wanted out of it and you think do I have anything left in this and tonight I thought, you have nothing to lose, keep the faith and believe in yourself and I was out in a side lane tonight and I just enjoyed every moment of it,” Walshe said.

Posting the qualifying standard, Walshe has secured passage to the Olympic Games for a second time in her young career.

The previous national record of 2:12.02, which Walshe hit in 2021 Olympic qualifiers, was under the FINA ‘A’ time to take her to the Olympic Games that summer.

At that stage, there was some ambiguity in relation to whether Walshe would qualify for the delayed 2020 Olympic Games, due to the percentage of swimmers near the FINA ‘A’ time who featured at time trial events.

Walshe was later picked by the Swim Ireland Selection Panel and the Olympic Federation of Ireland to compete at the Olympic Games.

However, the marvellous 2:10.92 time that Walshe clocked in Japan last weekend leaves nothing up for discussion, having guaranteed her spot on the plane to France in 2024.

Walshe is still in action at the World Championships this week, having also competed in the 100m Butterfly, where she finished up in 24th place with a time of 59.44.

This weekend, Walshe will be competing in the Women’s 400m Individual Medley heats, where she will be hoping to qualify for a spot in the finals on Sunday.

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