SWIMMING: There was disappointment for the quartet of Irish swimmers in action at the European Swimming championships Eindhoven as they all failed to advance in their respective disciplines.
Dubliner Barry Murphy was in great form during the heats of the men's 50metres breaststroke as he broke the Irish record to reach the semi-finals. However, the 22-year-old took cramp with 10 metres to go to finish last of the 16 semi-finalists.
Murphy was also in action in the 50m freestyle but his time of
23.47seconds was only good enough for 40th place overall. He is
still hopeful of making it to the Olympics later this year and will
another chance to make the grade for Beijing at the Irish Olympic
Trials at Abbotstown in May.
Aisling Cooney and Claire Dawson both came up short in the
women's 50m freestyle. On a positive note, Cooney (17) had a
good week by bettering the Irish women's 50m backstroke record in
the semi-finals.
Grainne Murphy (15) set a personal best in the heats of the women's 200m butterfly but failed to qualify for the last 16.
It means none of the five Irish swimmers competing this week will feature in tonight's finals.