Daniel Wiffen, Ellen Walshe and Evan Bailey all progressed on from heats and there were three new Irish Records set on the second morning of racing at the 2025 European Aquatics Championships (25m).
Following his bronze medal win in the 400m Freestyle on Tuesday, Daniel Wiffen was back in the pool to compete in the 1500m Freestyle on Wednesday morning. Wiffen, the reigning European Champion (25m) in this event, set the pace for large parts of the heat, eventually stopping the clock at 14:24.38 and finishing second, he will head into Thursday night’s final as the third-fastest qualifier.
Speaking after the race Wiffen said: “It was a good time. It hurt a little more than I wanted, but after last night’s final I got back quite late. I’m pretty happy and we move on to tomorrow. I just parked last night, it was amazing and it’s a great start to the season – but I am a distance swimmer at heart, so the 1500m is my favourite event.”
Ellen Walshe was the first Irish swimmer in the pool this morning, competing in the 100m Individual Medley. The double Olympian touched in a new Irish Record of 58.80, breaking her own record of 58.85 from 2024 and advancing to this evening’s semi-final as the fourth-fastest qualifier.
Following the race, the Templeogue swimmer said: “I think the team got off to a great start yesterday. Entering the 50m Butterfly yesterday was just a swim to loosen out. I wanted to put a time on the board this morning that made me feel I’m in the meet and ready to race fast. I’m delighted with the swim this morning. I guess it’s anyone’s tonight – I’m just looking forward to getting out there and feeling through the call room again. It would have been nice to get a second swim yesterday; I have previously. Seeing that I didn’t make it back, I said to myself, ‘come on now.’ It made me hungry for more. Even at the level I’m at, it might not have been my main event, but you still want to succeed in everything you do. So, coming out here this morning, I had a bee in my bonnet to show myself that I am ready to race.”
Evan Bailey had an impressive morning clocking a new Irish Record of 1:42.68 in the 200m Freestyle to qualify for the semi-final. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer dipped below Jack McMillan’s, last night’s gold medallist in the 400m Freestyle, 2020 Irish Record of 1:42.74. Bailey progresses into the semi-final in thirteenth overall.
Speaking after the race he said: “It hurt quite a lot for a heat swim. It was a lot quicker than I expected it to be; it was 1:46 two years ago to make it back for a semi-final, and it was 1:43 today. Sitting in the call room I knew I had to be on it — this event is always stacked. I’m very happy.”
An exciting 4x50m Medley Relay that included John Shortt, Eoin Corby, Ellen Walshe, and Rosalie Phelan narrowly missed out on a place in the final by just over a second, clocking a combined 1:40.54. The time saw the team set a new Irish Senior Record – breaking the 2019 record of 1:41.00 held by four Olympians in Conor Ferguson, Darragh Greene, Mona McSharry, and Danielle Hill.
Speaking after the race, Walshe said: “I’m delighted. We’ve come out here as a strong team, and to enter 50s is quite difficult for some of us, but we put on a great performance this morning.”
Also, in action in the 200m Freestyle this morning, Jack Cassin clocked 1:45.92, setting a new lifetime best, while his National Centre (Limerick) teammates Cormac Rynn and Denis O’Brien went 1:45.43 and 1:49.65, respectively.
Tonight, will see John Shortt return to the European stage as the fastest qualifier for the 200m Backstroke Final, with Ellie McCartney suiting up for the 100m Breaststroke Final. Ellen Walshe (100m IM) and Evan Bailey (200m Freestyle) will also return to the water for their semi-finals.
Day 2 Heats Results – Wednesday 3rd December
| Women 100m IM | Ellen Walshe H: 58.80 (4) ISR | |
| Men 200m Freestyle | Evan Bailey H: 1:42.68 (13) ISR Cormac Rynn H: 1:46.65 (51st) Jack Cassin H:1:45.92 (54th) PB Denis O’Brien H: 1:49.65 (68th) |
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| Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay | Ireland H: 1:40.54 (11th) ISR | |
| Men 1500m Freestyle | Daniel Wiffen: 14:24.38 (3) | |
Day 2 Final Schedule- Wednesday 3rd December Men 200m Backstroke Final Men 200m Freestyle Women 100m IM |
John Shortt Ellie McCartney Ellen Walshe |
18.17 (IRL) 18.44 (IRL) 19.04 (IRL) 19.16 (IRL) |
