Clare senior lifesavers bring home the gold

Clare senior lifesavers earned 11 of the 14 medals brought home from the European Senior Lifesaving Championships held in Alicante, Spain, recently.  The Irish team of 11 competitors placed sixth overall in the premier lifesaving championships in Europe. Five of the Irish Team are from Clare.
The international event attracted professional athletes and high-performance competitors from France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Great Britain.
The championships simulate real-life rescue situations that lifesavers can expect to encounter.
Lifesaving sport is primarily intended to encourage lifesavers to develop, maintain and improve the essential physical and mental skills needed to save lives in the aquatic environment. Lifesaving competitions consist of a variety of competitions to further develop and demonstrate lifesaving skills, fitness and motivation.
Undaunted by the searing Spanish temperatures, Ireland’s best ever performance is evident from the tally of medals – six gold, five silver and three bronze.
The Irish team got off to a great start, winning the first event in the pool, the SERC  (Simulated Emergency Response Competition). This is a simulated rescue situation in which four members of the team have to work together to rescue all the subjects involved.  Ireland’s proficiency across a range of disciplines is reflected in the range of medal wins – gold in SERC and in line throw, silver in taplin and in board race and bronze in board rescue and oceanman.

Results
Colm Fitzgerald (Clare)
Pool event: A final, Irish record in 4x25m manikin relay, gold in pool SERC. Beach events: silver in ocean taplin; eighth in ocean tube rescue and eleventh in flags.
Bernard Cahill (Clare)
Pool event: A final Irish record in 4x25m manikin relay.
Beach events: silver, ocean taplin; bronze, oceanman; seventh, ocean board rescue; eighth, ocean tube rescue; ninth, ocean surf race.
Dylan Barrett (Clare)
Pool events: gold in pool line throw. 
Beach events: bronze, ocean board rescue; 12th, ocean surf race.
Oisín McGrath (Clare)
Pool events: gold, pool SERC; gold, pool line throw.
Beach events: silver, ocean board rescue; silver, ocean taplin; bronze, ocean board rescue; seventh, ocean man; 13th, Ocean Ski Race.
Siobhán McGrath (Clare)
Pool: B final, 4×50 medley relay; B final, 4x25m manikin relay; B final pool line throw.
Beach: 1st, B final, ocean tube rescue.

Upcoming event
The National Junior Lifesaving Championships are rescheduled to take place this Saturday at Whitestrand. Competitors assemble at 10.30am, with the first race at 11am. The event had to be postponed earlier in the month due to adverse weather and sea conditions following Hurricane Katia. It is expected that competitors aged between 14 and 18 years will compete from all over Ireland.