There were a lot of smiles at the Tallaght Gala as a large number of TEAM athletes headed to the Tallaght Pool to race in the annual Tallaght Gala.

The Saturday night session opened with Caoilfhinn Tan (15) posting a strong 400FC to finish in 3rd place, while Hannah Walshe (12) set a huge PB in the same event before Nicole Fitzpatrick (14) took on her first 800FC swim, delivering a well paced swim to net herself a PB in the process also.

As the Sunday session opened, Coach Paul Conlon had his hands full with the large team of eager competitors from the club who set out to put good racing skills to the test en route to some great PB’s.  In the girls 200FC Rachel Roe (12), Hannah Walshe (12) & Ella McNair (11) all posted big new PB’s in their respective swims, while Lauren Woulfe (12), Laura Gleeson (12) and Shona Kelly (11) did likewise in what are relatively new events for them but great to see them swim confidently to deliver big PB’s across the board. Aimee Anslow (13) put up a big PB also as she took over 10 seconds off her previous best int he same event.

The younger boys were well represented as Rory King (10) also posted a PB in his first ever race 200FC but was joined by Turlough O’Kelly (12) and Luke Delacey (14) who also netted PB’s as they too took delivered big improvements.

The girls were back on the block as Mia Whelan-O’Connor (10) posted a fine PB in the 50BF, showing her range of skills in multiple strokes before Daniel Walsh (10) did similar in the boys event.  Alexandra Lenihan (10) smashed a big PB in the 100BS, while Lauren Woulfe (12) also took a big chunk from her PB as Aimee Anslow (13) and Aoife Lowe (14) posted strong swims in their events also.

Stephen Murphy (10) showed real promise with a fine display in the 100BS to win top Podium place, in a big PB, before Evan DeLacey (11), Turlough O’Kelly (12) & Sam Suttle (11) also put strong swims on the board in the same event, with Suttle picking up this event for the first time.  The DeLacey name was back in sheer as Luke DeLacey (14) posted another new PB to win a silver medal in his Breastroke event, while team mate Robert Van Breda (15) also PB’s to pick up the Bronze in his age group.

Mia Randles (8) was pleased with her PB, just narrowly missing out on the podium, before Erin Delaney (10) and Aimee Tan (10) both posted fine PB’s to see Delaney take top spot in her age group as Tan like Randles was also agonisingly close to a podium finish.  The trend of great PB’s but near podiums continued as Laura Gleeson (12) was satisfied with her fine PB swim in the BC also but narrowly missed the podium.  As the boys took to the pool Oisin Murray (10), Rory King (10) & Ben Smyth (10) all posted PB’s as Murray ook the silver medal and the other boys happy with their PB efforts.  Tiernan Carroll (11) signed off the Templeogue Backstrokers with another great PB in his event.

With new athletes joining the program over the year it was great to see Clodagh Lambert (9) post her first official race result int he 50FC with a strong swim, followed up by Erin Delaney (10), Alexandra Lenihan (10), Mia Whelan-O’Connor (10), Anna Suttle (10) & Aimee Tan (10) all of whom swam strongly in their age group Laura Gleeson (12) & Shona Kelly (11) were pleased with their PB’s while Aoife Lowe (14) was also happy with her swim en route to gaining more great racing experience.

Jake Dolan (9) in his first event delivered a superb PB and topped the podium as he and Scott Dillon (8) got great experience in their first racing event.  The developing strength in the TEAM was signified by PB’s from Stephen Murphy (10), Oisin Murray (10), Rory King (10), Daniel Walsh (10), Ben Smyth (10) & Matthew Gray (10) all posting PB’s as Murphy, Murray & King picked up the total podium finishes in their respective age group, and Walsh too in 4th spot.

More new experience was gained as Alexey Gorelova (12), Tiernan Carroll (11) & Sam Suttle (11) posted great swims and PB’s for them, before Luke DeLacey (14) further improved his PB also in his event.

Aimee Tan (10) took on a new event in the 100BC, posting a strong new Swim, before Rachel Roe (12) posted a podium PB finish as Ella McNair (11) also posted a superb new PB too, while Laura Gleeson (12) like Tan, opened another New PB column as she too posted her first official 100BC time.  Aimee Anslow (13) showed her continued improvement with a PB in the same 100BC event.

PB’s continued a plenty as Oscar Randles (10) posted one in the 100BC, before Evan DeLacey (11) did liekwise before he watched brother Luke DeLacey (14) take another step forward as did Robert Van Breda (15) to see both Delacey & Van Breda post a Podium result in their events.

The Girls Relay kept a smile on as they posted a 3rd place finish (see here with Laura Gleeson missing) before the boys also kept on smiling in their event as the poster boys for this piece.

The Afternoon session was another busy session of PB’s as Emily Rossiter (10) opened her account with a 30 Second PB in the 200IM and a podium finish also.  Evan DeLacey (11) also posted a new time, before Richard McCarthy (13) took to the pool to show how his hard work has been paying off as he too walked away with a New PB and a Podium finish also.

Mia Randles (9) was pleased with her improvement in the 50BS, before Anna Suttle (10), Alexandra Lenihan (10) & Emily Rossiter (10) all posted great swims with Rossiter finishing on the podium in a tight finish.  Aoife Lowe (14) also picked up another strong result in the 50BS to add to her busy schedule of racing.  Oscar Zhu (10) was delighted with his new PB as he posted a time good enough for a podium finish in what was his first time to race the Breastroke event at a gala.  Robert Van Breda (15) set another PB in the shorter BS event to also post a podium finish before Mia Randles (8) took on a new 100FC event, while Emily Rossiter (10), Ella McNair (11), Lauren Woulfe (12) & Aoife Lowe (14) all lowered their PB’s as Rossiter picked up another podium finish in a busy afternoon.

New Event experience was further gained as Oscar Randles (10) & Oscar Zhu (10) both posted good swims in the 100FC with big PB’s delivered by both boys.  Turlough O’Kelly (12) & Evan DeLacey (11) picked up more PB’s while Luke DeLacey (14), Richard McCarthy (13) & Robert Van Breda (15) were pleased with their swims, DeLacey’s podium result and McCarthy & Van Breda with their NEW PB’s.

As the day drew to a close Rachel Roe (12) & Ella McNair (11) posted further PB’s in their 200BC, before Roe returned to the block some time later to finish her busy day of racing with a further PB in the 200BS. Oscar Randles (10) gained some invaluable experience in the 100BF posting a podium worthy time, while Richard McCarthy (13) posted another new PB in the same event.

Emily Rossiter (10) saved the best for her final swim as she posted a new PB, a podium topping swim and an Irish Division 2 Qualifying time in the 200BS, while Lauren Woulfe (12) also finished off her day in style with another substantial PB in the 200BS.  The PB machine shut down in style for the day as Robert Van Breda (15) also posted his final PB of the day in the 200BS to close our another Podium result and a long and very successful day of racing.

There were some 38 athletes from the club involved in this busy day and a half of racing.  OVER 80PB’s delivered and a strong overall TEAM PERFORMANCE across multiple strokes and race distance.

Well done to ALL Swimmers!