Siblings aiming for success at Irish championships

The 2023/ 2024 domestic season will draw to a close following the penultimate Irish Summer Age Group and Youth and Senior National Championship 2024.

The Age Group Championship is being held in the University Limerick Sports Arena for 12-14 year olds from July 11-14, and the Youth and Senior Championship will be held at the Dublin National Aquatic Centre from July 22-27.

A family affair, the dedicated Lannon siblings have all qualified for summer nationals after 10 months of 4.45am starts to get to swim training.

13-year-old Luke Lannon will be competing at the Irish Age Group Championship. Luke has gone from strength to strength this season, and his hard work with Longford Swimming Club, the Connacht Skills Academy, and, indeed, training with Enniskillen Royal Boat Club has paid off.

Luke has achieved qualification in seven events: the 100m and 200m back crawl, 200m breaststroke, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle.

Although new to distance swimming Luke has had excellent success in these events this season and he is determined to achieve some decent PBs in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle.

18-year-old Izzy Lannon will also be attending the Irish Youth and Senior National championship.

Izzy is the exception to the rule of swimming in Ireland, where there is a high dropout of female swimmers after 16 years.

An A-level student focusing on demanding STEM subjects, her time is precious, but her love of the sport has motivated her to continue training and competing.

She also puts all her swimming experience into her part-time work as a swim teacher at the Lakeland Forum.

Izzy has qualified for six events this year: the 100m breaststroke, 100m back crawl, 200m butterfly, 400m freestyle, and 200m and  400m IM. Izzy is keen to see PB in all her events.

16-year-old Jamie Lannon will be attending the Irish Youth and Senior National championship.

Having just completed his final year of GCSEs, Jamie is excited to put away the books and concentrate on this upcoming championship.

Despite the demands of studying and additional squad training with his home club, Longford SC, the Connacht Regional squad and the National Centre P28 squad, Jamie has had a very successful year.

Performances in Swansea, the Dave McCullagh International and the Irish Open saw him achieve impressive PBs in all his events, particularly his 100m and 200m breaststroke.

For this upcoming championship, Jamie has qualified for eight events: the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, the 100m butterfly and the 200m IM.

Jamie is well-seeded for his breaststroke events and will aim for the finals with high hopes for podium finishes.