Sunday, August 13, 2023
Americans Finish Strong on Final Day of LEN European U23 Swimming Championships
The inaugural LEN European U23 Swimming Championships came to a close today at the Sport Ireland National Aquatic Center in Dublin, Ireland. USA Swimming finished strong, picking up an additional six top-three finishes on the final day – three first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and one third-place finish. Overall, USA Swimming leaves Ireland with 10 first-place finishes, seven second-place finishes and six third-place finishes.
Athletes are listed below with their overall finish and time in the finals. The United States is one of three non-European nations competing at this event and are awarded ceremonial green medals if they placed. Gold, silver and bronze medals are only awarded to LEN member nations, so only to the first, second and third-place European competitors in the race. However, the LEN and non-LEN athletes stand shoulder to shoulder in the ceremony to recognize their performances, in a strong display of international sportsmanship.
Patrick Sammon (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Aquasol Swim Club/Arizona State) won the men’s 100m freestyle 48.53 from lane one. His winning time was just .07 off his personal best.
“I love being able to see my competition on the way back,” Sammon said of winning from lane one. “It definitely gives me a little extra boost on the last 15 meters.”
Isabelle Stadden (Blaine, Minn./California Aquatics) picked up her second backstroke win of the weekend with her dominating first-place finish in the 200m event. Her time of 2:09.31 was 2.04 faster than the next competitor and was good enough for the tenth-fastest time in the world this year.
“It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted timewise, but I truly gave it my all for what I have right now,” Stadden said. “It really gives me motivation going into this coming year for the Olympics.”
USA Swimming closed the night with a first-place finish in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay in a time of 3:27.35.
“You get to meet a ton of new people and make some great memories in a short amount of time,” Hunter Tapp (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team/NC State) said. “We had a lot of fun and (the team) was really close over these five days we had together. This relay is great, and being able to swim for Team USA was a blast and I made 13 new friends on this trip.”
USA Swimming won both mixed relays contested at this meet (4x100m medley and 4x100m freestyle).
Just minutes before anchoring the U.S. team to the relay win, Grace Cooper (Oswego, Ill./Delta Aquatics/University of Texas) finished second in the women’s 100m freestyle with a personal best time of 54.67 – just .01 off the winning time.
“It gives me a lot (of confidence) since I didn’t get a best in the 50,” Cooper said. “I wanted to end on a good note. Hearing Patrick (Sammon) won from the outside lane gave me a little bit of inspiration as well. I’m just really glad I could end the season with a best time in that event, I’m glad I could put it all together.”
Paige McKenna (Easton, Pa./Nation’s Capital Swim Club/University of Wisconsin) also finished in second place in the women’s 1500m freestyle (16:22.76).
“I felt really good during it and towards the end, I saw an opportunity in that last 50,” McKenna said. “I just went all in. (This meet) gives me a lot of motivation for next summer, I worked really hard to get where I’m at right now. I’m looking forward to training and continuing to get better.”
Mitchell Mason (Houston, Texas/Aquastar/LSU) finished third in the men’s 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:00.42.
“This entire meet has been awesome – the entire experience,” Mason said. “I’m just having fun racing. I’m definitely taking that finish, and always happy to get close to the best times. Still, some places to clean up so we are always improving, definitely ways to get better, but can’t be upset with that at all.”
Overall, the Americans will leave Ireland with 10 first-place finishes, seven second-place finishes and six third-place finishes. Complete results from the LEN European U23 Swimming Championships can be found here.
Approximately 400 athletes from 42 federations are competing in over 1,100 races contested over the three-day event. USA Swimming is grateful to Swim Ireland and LEN (European Aquatics) for allowing American swimmers to compete alongside the Europeans in this meet for athletes under the age of 23.
Keep up with all the latest USA Swimming news by following @usaswimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out our News Notebook which details programs, athletes and clubs that have made the headlines.
Athletes are listed below with their overall finish and time in the finals. The United States is one of three non-European nations competing at this event and are awarded ceremonial green medals if they placed. Gold, silver and bronze medals are only awarded to LEN member nations, so only to the first, second and third-place European competitors in the race. However, the LEN and non-LEN athletes stand shoulder to shoulder in the ceremony to recognize their performances, in a strong display of international sportsmanship.
Patrick Sammon (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Aquasol Swim Club/Arizona State) won the men’s 100m freestyle 48.53 from lane one. His winning time was just .07 off his personal best.
“I love being able to see my competition on the way back,” Sammon said of winning from lane one. “It definitely gives me a little extra boost on the last 15 meters.”
Isabelle Stadden (Blaine, Minn./California Aquatics) picked up her second backstroke win of the weekend with her dominating first-place finish in the 200m event. Her time of 2:09.31 was 2.04 faster than the next competitor and was good enough for the tenth-fastest time in the world this year.
“It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted timewise, but I truly gave it my all for what I have right now,” Stadden said. “It really gives me motivation going into this coming year for the Olympics.”
USA Swimming closed the night with a first-place finish in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay in a time of 3:27.35.
“You get to meet a ton of new people and make some great memories in a short amount of time,” Hunter Tapp (Louisville, Ky./Lakeside Swim Team/NC State) said. “We had a lot of fun and (the team) was really close over these five days we had together. This relay is great, and being able to swim for Team USA was a blast and I made 13 new friends on this trip.”
USA Swimming won both mixed relays contested at this meet (4x100m medley and 4x100m freestyle).
Just minutes before anchoring the U.S. team to the relay win, Grace Cooper (Oswego, Ill./Delta Aquatics/University of Texas) finished second in the women’s 100m freestyle with a personal best time of 54.67 – just .01 off the winning time.
“It gives me a lot (of confidence) since I didn’t get a best in the 50,” Cooper said. “I wanted to end on a good note. Hearing Patrick (Sammon) won from the outside lane gave me a little bit of inspiration as well. I’m just really glad I could end the season with a best time in that event, I’m glad I could put it all together.”
Paige McKenna (Easton, Pa./Nation’s Capital Swim Club/University of Wisconsin) also finished in second place in the women’s 1500m freestyle (16:22.76).
“I felt really good during it and towards the end, I saw an opportunity in that last 50,” McKenna said. “I just went all in. (This meet) gives me a lot of motivation for next summer, I worked really hard to get where I’m at right now. I’m looking forward to training and continuing to get better.”
Mitchell Mason (Houston, Texas/Aquastar/LSU) finished third in the men’s 100m breaststroke in a time of 1:00.42.
“This entire meet has been awesome – the entire experience,” Mason said. “I’m just having fun racing. I’m definitely taking that finish, and always happy to get close to the best times. Still, some places to clean up so we are always improving, definitely ways to get better, but can’t be upset with that at all.”
Approximately 400 athletes from 42 federations are competing in over 1,100 races contested over the three-day event. USA Swimming is grateful to Swim Ireland and LEN (European Aquatics) for allowing American swimmers to compete alongside the Europeans in this meet for athletes under the age of 23.
Keep up with all the latest USA Swimming news by following @usaswimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Check out our News Notebook which details programs, athletes and clubs that have made the headlines.