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©INPHO/Cathal Noonan

Double delight: Melanie Nocher seals Olympic spot

Melanie Nocher set a new PB in the 200m backstroke final at the European Swimming Championships in Debrecen this evening.

MELANIE NOCHER QUALIFIED for the Olympics this evening to cap an unforgettable day for Ireland at the European Swimming Championships in Debrecen.

Nocher put in a career best performance to break the Irish national record in the final of the 200m backstroke, her last opportunity to hit the “A” qualifying standard for London 2012.

The Ards native finished fifth in a time of 2:10.75, less than a tenth of a second inside the cut-off to guarantee her place at a second successive Olympic games.

The race was won by Alexianne Castel of France (2:08.41) with Jenny Mensing of Germany (2:09.55) pipping Duane Da Rocha Marce of Spain (2:09.56) to the silver medal.

Seventeen-year-old swimming sensation Sycerika McMahon has also booked her place in the final of the 100m breaststroke.

McMahon qualified for the Olympics and set a new Irish senior record with a time of 1:08.37 in this morning’s heats, and she equaled that time to finish second in this evening’s semi-final behind Carolina Ruhnau of Germany (1:08.01).

Limerick’s Fiona Doyle finished in 12th place overall with a time of 1:09.68, which was not enough for a place in the final which takes place tomorrow evening.

I don’t believe it! McMahon qualifies for London 2012

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    Mute Tamagotchi
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    Apr 15th 2018, 6:27 PM

    I’m sure Sweden’s current strikers who got them there are delighted.

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    Mute Professional Chef
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    Apr 15th 2018, 6:28 PM

    Just when you thought he couldn’t become more unlikeable,

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    Mute Caoimhin O'Murchadha
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    Apr 15th 2018, 6:44 PM

    Disrespectful to his fellow pros and arrogance beyond belief!

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    Mute Mike
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    Apr 15th 2018, 6:46 PM

    @Caoimhin O’Murchadha: We’re all just speculating. What’s the view in Sweden I wonder?

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    Mute Caoimhin O'Murchadha
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    Apr 15th 2018, 7:04 PM

    @Mike: No matter what way you look at it Mike he’s taking a seat on the plane that he didn’t earn, no Swedish player is going to call him out over it though because he has legendary status over there, he was a fantastic player for them over the years but this is unfair.

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    Mute james heffernan
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    Apr 15th 2018, 11:08 PM

    @Mike: Studying abroad and have met a lot of swedes and they would all welcome him back. He’s a hero in their eyes, the greatest ever swede.

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    Mute Gary Dunne
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    Apr 16th 2018, 11:09 AM

    @Caoimhin O’Murchadha: Any player in the squad earns their place. He’ll hardly be the only player to not feature regularly or at all in qualifying to be in a World Cup squad.

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    Mute David Linehan
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    Apr 15th 2018, 7:00 PM

    They’ve qualified purely down to the fact that he wasn’t there. They’re a team without him.

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    Mute al
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    Apr 15th 2018, 8:32 PM

    I’d never wish an injury on any sports player, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of the Swedish strikers might be getting a few voodoo dolls. Absolute awful behaviour from Zlatan and from the coaching staff if they allow him.

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    Mute Tony Mcgrath
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    Apr 15th 2018, 8:08 PM

    My guess he won’t be picked

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    Mute Sloop John G
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    Apr 16th 2018, 9:44 AM

    Must be a slow news day. This article was first posted at 6.15pm yesterday and the article about Man United’s loss to West Brom was posted at 5.50pm yet these are the top 2 stories on 42 this morning having been re-posted. Bad journalism. You need to do better.

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