Donegal swimmers triumph at European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships

Donegal swimmers Anna Hennessy and Eoin Rooney introduced dwelling a powerful mixture of medals from the European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Italy.

Anna, from Letterkenny and Eoin, from Ballyshannon have been a part of a seven-strong workforce of swimmers representing the Irish Down Syndrome Swimming Organisation (IDSSO) in Padova final week.

All of the Irish athletes achieved their qualifying occasions to compete and had glorious outcomes inside a subject of greater than 17 international locations.

Anna Hennessy took half in six particular person occasions plus two relays (one being pulled because of an harm of one of many swimmers); 100m and 50m entrance crawl, 100m and 50m butterfly taking private bests and likewise 100m and 50m backstroke.

With a private better of 12 seconds within the 100 again, Anna certified to the ultimate of the 50m again, taking sixth place in Europe. 

This was Eoin’s first lengthy course worldwide meet of such excessive commonplace. He competed individually in 50m frontcrawl, 50m again, 50m butterfly and 100m frontcrawl in addition to the 4×100 blended frontcrawl relay during which alongside Anna, Eoghan and Katie, they positioned fifth. 

Crew Eire was supported by Head Coach Niall Molloy, Sinead Donagher and Johanna Tilley-Rock. In addition they had excellent parental help from Padraig Ashe, Martina Kennedy, Ann English, Kevin Hennessy and Annmarie Hogg.

Crew Eire Padova 2023. Photograph: Irish Down Syndrome Swimming

Each Anna and Eoin are members of Nemo Particular Olympics Swim Membership. They each educated collectively within the lead as much as the championships below coach Sinead Donagher, who’s Eoin’s mom, at Finn Valley Leisure Centre. Anna can also be a member of Swilly Seals and can also be coached by her father Kevin through the holidays.

Admiration for each Donegal swimmers was supported by the notable sponsorship from Kelly’s Diner Mountaintop and Convergint who ready the workforce with clothes/equipment to symbolize their nation on the European Championships. 

“Anna and Eoin have been overwhelmed with the help they acquired from Donegal which didn’t go unnoticed by the remainder of the workforce,” stated Sinead.

“They’re each extraordinarily pleased with themselves and now proceed to coach in preparation for the World Down Syndrome Championships in Turkey 2024.”

Eoin Rooney and Anna Hennessy on the 2023 European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships

A spokesperson from Swim Eire added: “Head Coach Niall Molloy, Sinead Donagher and Johanna Tilley-Rock have been the workforce coaches. Nonetheless, it couldn’t have occurred with out a completely unbelievable help workforce: Padraig (head of Irish delegation), Ann, Martina & Ciaran (Crew Managers), Kevin & Ann- Maire (Medical help) and all these members of the family who got here out to help the workforce. Properly carried out workforce.”

Donegal swimmers triumph at European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships was final modified: September twenty second, 2023 by Rachel McLaughlin

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