In the main, athletes were selected to compete in one or other of the two events, as it is unusual for both to take place in the same calendar year; events being pushed back because of the pandemic has resulted in the end of 2021 and much of 2022 being more hectic for international racing than usual.

The World Championships is set to run over six days from 16^th – 21^st December, with the European equivalent also running over six days from 2^nd – 7^th November 2021.

Ireland’s youthful European Championships team features three athletes – Eoin Corby, Molly Mayne and Grace Hodgins – that will focus on gathering experience, while among the 12 athletes in Ireland’s heading to Abu Dhabi are eight Olympians, including Tokyo 2020 Olympic finalist Mona McSharry.

 The Irish team for the World Championships will also feature Olympic Top-16 finisher Daniel Wiffen and Shane Ryan and Danielle Hill, who have performed notably in the 2021 season of the International Swimming League (ISL).

Fellow Olympians Brendan Hyland, Finn McGeever, Jack McMillan, and Ellen Walshe will also compete, with Darragh Greene the only Tokyo 2020 swimmer not travelling, as he only recently returned to the training pool after an extended post-Olympics break.

Identified relays will once again be a strong focus for the Irish contingent with some athletes selected to the team specifically for this purpose. The Irish team will be led by Team Leader Jon Rudd and Head Coach Ben Higson, with Michael McCarthy also selected as a team coach to support the travelling contingent.

The Irish team at the European Championships in Kazan will be led by Head Coach John Szaranek, who will be assisted by Trojan Swimming Club coach Jonathan Preston.

On this team, multiple Irish Junior Record holder Eoin Corby is the most experienced of the group. He and teammate Molly Mayne recently started their short course season at the FINA Swimming World Cup.

They will be joined by youngster Grace Hodgins, who will gain her first Irish cap at all levels when she first steps onto the blocks.

National Performance Director Jon Rudd said: “After what was our most successful Olympic Games in at least 25 years, we are delighted to be able to return to some high-quality international racing, something that eluded us during 2020 and 2021 as we approached Tokyo.

“There’s very much an eye on the future with some of these athletes and they all met what we felt was a stringent and robust Selection Policy to make these teams.

“Some athletes have been unable to take up their places, particularly for Kazan, as November is not an easy period for those in full-time education, but for those who can take the opportunity, we will look forward to some fast and exciting short course racing across the two meets.”

The Swim Ireland Selection Policy permitted Mona McSharry a place on both Irish National Teams at these two events, but McSharry will focus on the Abu Dhabi event due to her ongoing academic commitments.

The athletes returning from Kazan will also race in the 2021 Irish National Short Course Championships, which take place at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin from the 16^th – 18^th December.

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Nine Irish swimmers are set to compete in Tokyo across 14 events and will be in action in the newly built Tokyo Aquatics Centre from Saturday 24 July – Sunday 1 August 2021.

The strength and depth of Irish swimming has been on display over the past number of years, culminating this year with the ultimate qualification of six swimmers who have achieved the FINA A time across their events.

Jon Rudd, National Performance Director and Team Leader for the Games is excited to see the swimmers in action.

He said: “The standard of swimming in Ireland is growing, and without all these athletes striving for improvement, we would not be where we are today, fielding the largest ever swim team for Ireland.”

25-year-old Darragh Greene from Longford is one of the nine swimmers travelling to Tokyo.

Coached by Ben Higson, who has two other swimmers making the trip to Japan, Greene will compete in 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

It will be the first Olympic Games for the first Irishman to swim the 100m breaststroke in under one minute.

The Irish senior record holder for both events said that “the Olympics have been something that [he has] dreamt about for a long time, and it is a real honour to be officially selected to compete for Team Ireland in Tokyo.”

Other swimmers on the team include record-holders such as Mona McSharry and Tipperary native Finn McGeever.

Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Tricia Heberle, is excited by the large number of qualified swimmers.

She believes it’s especially encouraging seeing the number of FINA A standard swimmers qualifying.

Heberle concluded: “The past year has been tough for everyone, but seeing how our swimmers handled that first lockdown, coming out of it producing personal bests and national records, in challenging circumstances has been a true test of resilience.”

Team Ireland Swim Team For Tokyo 2020

Darragh Greene

Danielle Hill

Brendan Hyland

Finn McGeever

Jack McMillan

Mona McSharry

Shane Ryan

Ellen Walshe

Daniel Wiffen

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Tanya Watson qualified for the Women’s 10m platform and will be one half of the Irish Olympic diving team.

Rio 2016 finalist Ollie Dingley will be going to his second Olympic games and will compete in the Men’s Springboard 3m event.

“Firstly, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who made this possible. It’s a real privilege to represent Ireland at my second Olympic Games,” said Dingley.

“I feel very lucky that we can get to go and compete at the Olympics after what has been a very uncertain time for everybody.

“This will be my third competition in over two years, and I really just can’t wait to get out there and compete and do my best.”

19-year-old Tanya Watson will be looking forward to this summer’s Olympics too.

The Southampton-born diver qualified after getting into the Top 18 of the FINA Diving World Cup in Tokyo.

Team Ireland has also made history by sending more than one diver to the Olympics for the first time, according to Swim Ireland Performance Director John Rudd.

“We’re all thrilled to see this talented team of two selected to compete in diving at the Games, particularly as this is the very first time we’ve ever fielded more than one diver at an Olympics – as well as Tanya having the honour of being our first-ever female Olympic diver….we can look forward to some exciting days of competition in the Olympic weeks ahead,” said Rudd.

Tanya progressed from Ireland’s Youth Olympic team of 2018 and has added more great performances and accolades to her name since reaching the final in Buenos Aires.

28-year-old Ollie Dingley has a notable amount of accolades too, including the Irish record for the 1m and 3m Springboard.

Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Tricia Heberle, is excited to see the divers in action.

Heberle said: “We know it has been a challenging qualifying pathway and we are very excited to support them both.”

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