From Sportsco to Palma
15-year-old Ashling Cooney heads for European Junior Championships

Ashling Cooney, 15 year-old daughter of Patricia Cooney from ESB Customer Supply, has every reason to celebrate at the moment. Ashling, who has been swimming for the past 5 years at ESB Sportsco and also at Westwood, is putting in 18 hours a week presently and is training for the European Junior Championships which are coming up shortly.

Ashling's coach is Bill McCarthy and her efforts have paid off with her win of the Dave McCullagh Gala in March. "This was very important to me at the time as I was trying to qualify for the Junior Europeans," she told EM.

Ashling broke the record by 4 mini seconds in one of the heats and went on to win the final. She also qualified in the 100 metres back row. At the Irish Long Course (50 back stroke) Championships in April she actually broke her own record which she had achieved in the Dave McCullagh Gala. Ashling is now heading off to the Championships and will be in the training camp from June 27th to July 4th. Ashling is one of five who qualified for the Championships in Palma in Majorca from July 6th to 11th. Ashling's parents and brother will join her in Palma for the competition which she is very excited about. We wish her the best of luck in the event.