Swimmer John Shortt won his second gold medal at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships in Romania. Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
A sensational swim from Ireland’s John Shortt saw the Irish man claim a second World Junior title, this time in the 200m backstroke, on the closing day of racing at the World Aquatics Junior Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
The 18-year-old from Galway, who won gold in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 50m backstroke earlier in the week, dominated the 200m backstroke final from start to finish, winning by almost two seconds over his closest competitor in 1:56.19. His time, a new Irish senior, and junior record, broke the 1:56.61 standard he swam at the Irish Open in April.
Silver went to 50m backstroke gold medallist Daniele del Signore of Italy in 1:57.99 with bronze won by the USA’s David Melnychuk in 1:58.13.
“It’s been a long season, but to end it on such a high with a big PB, I couldn’t be happier,” a delighted Shortt said. “Having my family, my coaches, my teammates here, it’s just been amazing, and I’ve loved every bit of it.”
On the Irish record time he set, he said: “It’s not bad, but you know, as my amazing coach John would say ‘it can always be better’, but I’m very glad to get away with the gold and a new senior record and junior record, I’m pretty proud of that.”
On the importance of World Junior Championships experience for upcoming senior meets, he added “It’s everything, because, once you get to those really big finals, like Worlds or the Olympics, you need to be able to call on these experiences and know that you can perform under pressure. After a really good swim this morning, I knew I’d put myself in a position where I could do something really special tonight, and that’s what happened.”
Next up for Irish swimmers will be the Toyota World Para Swimming Championships from September 21 to 27 in Singapore, with Paralympics Ireland announcing the team on Wednesday.