SYCERIKA MCMAHON CAN make it a medal double at the European Short Course Championships in France tomorrow.
The Portaferry teenager was in top form again on Friday as she set another new Irish senior record and qualified for the final of the 100m individual medley.
After breaking Gráinne Murphy’s national best in the heats this morning, 17-year-old McMahon went almost a second faster again when finishing fourth in her semi-final.
Her time of 1:01.24 was the seventh-fastest overall and enough to see her through to the final where she comes up against Katinka Hosszu of Hungary and the dual British challenge of Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Sophie Smith.
A silver medallist at the European Long Course Championships earlier this year, McMahon got off to a flying start in Chartres yesterday when she won bronze in the 50m breaststroke final.
Tallaght’s Brendan Hyland was also in record-breaking form today as he set a new junior best in the men’s 400m individual medley. Hyland finished in 4:25.11, more than a second faster than the record set by Shane Aherne in 2005.
All ten Irish swimmers will be in action tomorrow, including London Olympian Barry Murphy who is back in the water after a day’s rest.
Murphy swims in his main event, the 50m breaststroke, and is ranked 14th going into tomorrow’s heats.
Irish Results: Day 2 Heats
- Clodagh Flood 50m Fly 28.96 (36th)
- Jane Roberts 50m Fly 28.24 (39th)
- Cian Duffy 400m IM 4:28.03 (30th)
- Brendan Gibbons 400m IM 4:32.67 (31st)
- Brendan Hyland 400m IM 4:25.11** (29th)
- Sycerika McMahon 100m IM 1:02.13* (15th)
- Shani Stallard 200m Breast 2:30.06 (23rd)
- Sarah Kelly 800m Free 9:12.49 (9th) Slow Heats
* = Irish Senior Record ** = Irish Junior Record
