RTÉ sports journalist Paul O’Flynn was the winner of the men’s event at the 99th Liffey Swim in Dublin on Saturday.
O’Flynn, a regular contributor to the broadcaster’s main TV bulletins, was the fastest finisher, completing the course in a time “of around 43 minutes”, Dublin City Council said. O'Flynn is a member of the Half Moon Swimming Club in Dublin.
Triona Muldoon was the winner of the women's event.
Unofficial result Triona Muldoon @LeinsterOpenSea pic.twitter.com/1HrPqUeQ0z
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) September 1, 2018
The 2.2km swim, sponsored by Jones Engineering, began at Rory O’More Bridge and finished at North Wall Quay in front of the Custom House.
Participants are assigned a time handicap depending on their level of proficiency, which in O’Flynn’s case was eight minutes.
Muldoon, a member of Clontarf Swimming Club, recorded a winning time of "roughly 37 minutes", the council said. She had a handicap of seven minutes and 15 seconds.
Speaking after the race, O'Flynn said he had been taking part in the race since he was around 14 and that winning it had “definitely been a lifelong dream”.
“It’s been a long time coming, I knew I had a chance at it, but you never know with the tide and the weather or the currents," he said. “I just put the head down and got on with it, I was delighted to get over the line.
“By the end stage, you’re running on empty, if it had been 50 metres longer I don’t think I would have managed it."
