Team Ireland win 44 medals at the European Junior Lifesaving Championships

Ireland’s top Junior Lifesavers have won 20 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 8 bronze medals at the European Junior Lifesaving Championships. Ireland placed 2nd in Europe in the beach competitions and 5th in the overall combined pool and beach competitions.

The European Junior Lifesaving Championships was held in Ireland this year. The pool events took place in the UL Sport Arena from the 11th - 12th of September and the beach events took place at Kilkee Beach from the 13th - 15th of September.

Medal Winners Were:

Gold:

• Aisling Barry, Tara McEvoy, Sean Slattery and Noel Shannon won Gold in the Simulated
• Emergency Response Competition (SERC).
• Aisling Barry and Tara McEvoy won Gold in the Line Throw.
• Amy O’Brien and Emma Kristiansen won Gold in the Board Rescue Relay.
• Aisling Barry, Aoife Madigan, Emma Kristiansen and Sarah Morrisson won Gold in the Beach Relay
• Callum Holding, Ryan Cotter, Sean Slattery and Turlough Barrett also won Gold in the Beach Relay
• Ryan Cotter, Sarah Morrisson, Tara McEvoy and Turlough Barrett won Gold in the Lifesaver Relay.

Silver:

• Dylan O’Brien, Noel Shannon, Ryan Cotter and Sean Slattery won Silver in the Rescue Tube Relay.
• Dylan O’Brien and Turlough Barrett won Silver in the Board Rescue Relay.
• Sarah Morrisson won Silver in the Beach Sprints.
• Amy O’Brien won Silver in the Ocean Woman.
• Amy O’Brien, Aoife Madigan, Emma Kristiansen and Sarah Morrisson won Silver in the Ocean Woman Relay.
• Callum Holding, Dylan O’Brien, Ryan Cotter and Turlough Barret won Silver in the Ocean Man Relay.

Bronze:

• Callum Holding, Dylan O’Brien, Noel Shannon and Ryan Cotter won Bronze in the 200m Medley Relay.
• Ryan Cotter won Bronze in the Ski Race.
• Dylan O’Brien won Bronze in the Surf Race.
• Amy O’Brien won Bronze in the Board Race.
• Turlough Barrett also won Bronze in the Board Race.

“We all worked really well together as a team and we’re so happy that we did so well on home turf, the atmosphere was amazing!”, said competitor Amy O’Brien who won 2 team medals and 2 individual medals. “I’m delighted to be going home with 4 medals, especially the Silver in the Ocean Woman Competition”.

“The best performance ever by an Irish team at an international competition”, said Triona McMenamin, Ireland Coach. “The athletes train so hard all year round and it was so great to have the competition on home ground this year and topping it off with 44 medals is amazing. We are so proud of them!”.

The championships simulate real-life rescue situations that Lifeguards can expect to encounter and pits the best Junior Lifesavers from around Europe against each other in a series of gruelling water rescue scenarios in both pool and beach environments.

The European Junior Lifesaving Championships is an annual event open to those aged 18 and under and it’s organised under the aegis of International Lifesaving Europe (ILSE) which controls the sport worldwide. The sport of lifesaving exists to encourage lifesavers to maintain the skills, drills and physical fitness required for performing their lifesaving duties. The sport is truly multi-disciplined and takes place in the pool, on the beach and in the ocean. It has close ties to swimming, athletics, kayaking, rowing, surfing and power boating and is based on the equipment and skills that lifeguards use to perform lifesaving rescues.

Junior lifesaving competitors typically become top Lifeguards, patrolling beaches and pools in Ireland and abroad. It is a special sport such that it gives so much back to the community.