Four Irish swimmers set for World Series in Sheffield

A team of four Irish swimmers are on their way to the third meet of the new World Para Swimming World Series in Sheffield, Great Britain, taking place between 27-30 April.

The team features Rio 2016 100m breaststroke SB8 Paralympic bronze medallist Ellen Keane, as well as fellow Paralympian, 14-year-old Nicole Turner. They will be joined by upcoming young swimmers Barry McClements and Patrick Flanagan.

At the opening meet in the World Series in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Irish team came away with four medals; a gold and a silver each for Keane, and McClements.

Bringing together some of the biggest competitions on the global calendar, the World Series will take in five countries across Europe and the Americas in 2017, leading into the World Championships in Mexico City from 30 September – 6 October.

Speaking about the meet Irish team manager Hayley Burke said; “We’re looking forward to racing this weekend in Sheffield. As British nationals and a major open this meet has always been particularly competitive and with it promoted to a World Series it will be even more so with additional countries attending. Following our good showing in Copenhagen both Nicole and Barry are ranked second so far in the junior rankings for the World Series; all four will be keen to race well across their events and try and make several finals.”

Competition runs in Sheffield from Thursday-Sunday (27-30 April). Heats begin at 10:30am (CET) and the finals at 6:00pm.

The World Series takes in some of the biggest Para swimming competitions around the world ahead of the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico City.

After Sheffield, Indianapolis, USA; and Berlin, Germany, will host events in June and July respectively.

All mixed class heats and finals will be shown live at British Swimming’s website alongside live results and ticket information.