A team of twelve Irish swimmers are in Vilnius, Lithuania to compete against Europe’s stars of tomorrow at the European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships. The Ireland team will feature across the six days of competition from Tuesday, 2nd – 7th July at the Lazdynai Swimming Pool.
Led by Andy Reid and supported by coaches John Szaranek, Fran Ronan and Curtis Coulter, the Irish contingent includes three swimmers returning for their second consecutive European Junior Championships; Alana Burns-Atkin (Banbridge), Grace Davison (Ards), and John Shortt (National Centre Limerick) were all part of the team at last year’s European Juniors in Belgrade, Serbia. Shortt has since competed at the 2023 and 2024 World Championships and 2024 European Championships and Davison at the 2024 World Championships.
It is an action-packed opening day of competition for Ireland with nine individual swims getting the competition underway. Shortt, Denis O’Brien, Reuben Alty and Leagh Bailey will all compete in the 200m Freestyle, Alty and Bailey making their Ireland debuts.
O’Brien, Niamh Connery (400m IM), Ava Jones (50m Breaststroke), Sean Donnellan (200m Butterfly) and Brydan Byrne (50m Backstroke) will take a step up from the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2023 to European Junior Championships, while Adam Bradley will make his first appearance for Ireland in the 50m Breaststroke.
Speaking before the event, Head of Performance Pathways & Operations Andy Reid said: “The hard work and dedication shown by the athletes, their coaches and their parents has put them in a place where they can stand up this week with the confidence to show their best. The progress within this group of athletes over the last 12 months has been fantastic to watch and we are excited to see them compete.”
Day 1 Heats Schedule:
| M 200m Freestyle | John Shortt, Denis O’Brien, Reuben Alty |
| W 200m Freestyle | Leagh Bailey |
| W 400m IM | Niamh Connery |
| M 50m Backstroke | Brydan Byrne |
| W 50m Breaststroke | Ava Jones |
| M 50m Breaststroke | Adam Bradley |
| M 200m Butterfly | Sean Donnellan |
| 2024 European Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships
Vilnius, Lithuania (2nd – 7th July) |
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| Name | Home Programme | Home Programme Coach |
| Reuben Alty | Millfield School, England | Euan Dale |
| Leagh Bailey | New Ross SC, Ireland | Fran Ronan |
| Adam Bradley | City of Liverpool SC, England | Darren Ashley |
| Alana Burns-Atkin | Banbridge SC, Ireland | Davy Wilson |
| Brydan Byrne | Mount Kelly School, England | Emma Collings-Barnes |
| Niamh Connery | Shark SC (Galway), Ireland | Trevor Collins & Noel Barrett |
| Grace Davison | Ards SC (Newtownards), Ireland | Curtis Coulter |
| Sean Donnellan | Glenalbyn SC (Dublin), Ireland | Nickey Burke |
| Matthew Hamilton | Plymouth Leander SC, England | Chris Lee |
| Ava Jones | Project 28/Portmarnock SC, Ireland | Andrew Addison |
| Denis O’Brien | National Centre (Limerick), Ireland | John Szaranek |
| John Shortt | National Centre (Limerick), Ireland | John Szaranek |
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