County Roscommon swimmer makes Irish team for World Aquatics Championships in Singapore
Cormac Rynn, from Arigna in North Roscommon, will compete for Ireland at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy
The family of a young County Roscommon swimmer who has been selected for Ireland for the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore this summer has said that they are “so proud” of his achievement.
Cormac Rynn from Arigna in North Roscommon will join Olympic medalists Daniel Wiffen and Mona McSharry on the 12-strong Swim Ireland team for the eight days of competition in July.
“We’re just so proud of him. To get selected for Ireland to compete in a World Championships is beyond our wildest dreams. But Cormac has worked so hard to get there, and he deserves his chance,” his mother Fiona told the .
Rynn shot to fame last year by claiming gold, and his first Irish title, at the Irish Open Championships and Olympic Trials in the 400 metres freestyle in a new Irish junior record of 3:54.06. This year, he improved his time further when finishing second behind Daniel Wiffen.
He subsequently went on to compete for Ireland in the European Championships in Serbia — his first major call-up for Ireland.
Ahead of his trip to Singapore where he will be part of the 4 x 200 metres freestyle relay team, Rynn will also compete in the European Aquatics U-23 Championships in Slovakia in the 200 and 400 metres freestyle in June.
Rynn is currently attending University of Limerick (UL) where he is a Second Year student in Biological and Chemical Sciences. He is part of NCL (National Centre Limerick) — one of three national centres run by Swim Ireland — where he is coached by John Szaranek.
A former underage footballer with St. Ronan’s GAA Club and rugby player with Carrick RFC, Cormac’s love for swimming started at an early age before he joined Trident Swim Club in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Son of Harry and Fiona Rynn, he has one older sister, Aoibhe, and two brothers, Eoghan and Donnacha.
“It’s a huge achievement. We’re heading out to Slovakia to the U-23 championships next month. His times are going in the right direction. Obviously, the ultimate aim is to be selected for the Olympic Games,” said Fiona.
In 2024, Cormac created history as the first non-GAA recipient of a Dermot Earley Bursary. A past pupil of Drumshanbo Vocational School, he has just recently returned from a three-week altitude training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona.
For this 19-year-old from North Roscommon, the sky certainly appears to be the limit.
