Cormac Rynn of Trident SC competing in the Men's 200m butterfly final at the 2022 Irish National Winter Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Centre Picture: David Fitzgerald Sportsfile
From casual laps in the pool to international caps, life in swimming has moved quickly for Arigna’s Cormac Rynn as the Trident Swimming Club member sets his sights on the World Championships in Singapore and the European U23 Championships this Summer.
"It's starting to set in, I guess. I was drug tested for the first time there today. And it's kind of like, you're getting up to the big leagues now," says Cormac, who has been selected to represent Ireland at the Swimming World Championships in July as well as the European U23 Championships.
The 19-year-old swam with the Trident Swimming Club in Carrick-on-Shannon until he began University life in Limerick, studying Bio-Science and competing out of the National Swim Centre in Limerick for the last two years.
Last year, he got his first opportunity to swim for Ireland at the European Championships. Now, he has earned his second shot as part of the 4x200m freestyle relay team. He will join a 12-person squad travelling to Singapore this summer, before competing again in the European U23 Championship in June.
Representing Ireland is a “class feeling,” and not something he ever imagined he would do, he says. "I remember walking into the living room at my granddad's house. The Europeans were on, I think it was 2022, and he just asked me, ‘Oh yeah, are you going to get to that level?’ Because I was just kind of swimming as a hobby at that point. I said, ‘Oh God, no. Never.’"
TRIDENT SWIM CLUBS SHINE AT IRISH OPEN
Rynn feels his path has been different from that of many top-level swimmers, who typically compete nationally from a young age. In contrast, he only swam in Connacht and wasn’t performing at the level he hoped for, commenting "I just struggled when I was younger.”
A few years later, however, things began to “click” for him - “It was all quite gradual, and then it got quite exponential quickly, if that makes sense," he says.
Last year, Cormac won his first Irish title at the Irish Open Championships and Olympic Trials in the 400m freestyle, setting a new Irish junior record with a time of 3:54.06. Although he didn’t qualify for any individual events at the Worlds, he’s looking forward to the experience of competing on the other side of the world.
“Singapore will definitely take the cake for the furthest I've been from Arigna," he jokes. "We were just saying there, a couple of culchie lads - we're never going to be going over to Malaysia or Singapore ever again in our lives."
He notes that it's rare to see someone from his part of the country make it in top-level swimming. “You wouldn't really find a Roscommon lad on swimming teams," he says, adding, “But I'm proud to be a countryman.”
Cormac Rynn (second from left) pictured with his Trident SC clubmates Conor Lanigan, Clara Doherty, Eoghan Rynn and coach Helen Kennedy after Cormac set an Irish record
He's also excited to be part of a relay team that includes Olympic medalists Mona McSharry and Daniel Wiffen, whom he recently trained with during an altitude camp in Arizona.
“At first it used to be, ‘Oh wow, I’m in a heat with Daniel,’" he says. But now, he's more comfortable training and competing alongside elite swimmers, both at the international level and at his training base in the University of Limerick. When you have a mix of people, especially those better than you, that you're always chasing - I think it's really good.”
Training is “definitely not easy,” with early mornings and 20-hour weeks on top of his studies, but he enjoys the college environment and is starting to see the results of his hard work. “It shows in the times, let alone how I feel myself," he says.
In June, Rynn hopes to reap the rewards of his training as he competes in the European U23 Championships, where he will swim in the individual 200m and 400m freestyle events.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.