Cullen claims 100m backstroke title at Irish Open
Cullen achieved the consideration times for this summer's Commonwealth Games and European Championships
- Published
Lottie Cullen won the 100m backstroke title at the Irish Open Championships in Bangor.
Cullen beat 100m freestyle champion Grace Davison but both achieved the consideration times for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Paris.
Larne's Danielle Hill, who was fourth as she returns from an ankle injury, also has the consideration time for Glasgow, meaning Northern Ireland will be able to select a full complement of three swimmers for the event.
Cullen improved her heat time of 1:01.26 to 1:00.35 which was enough for the National Centre Ulster swimmer to see off Ards' Davison (1:00.61) and Limerick's Maria Godden, while Hill's 1:02.31 puts her in the frame for the Commonwealth Games.
"Getting the [consideration] time this morning [in the heats] took all the pressure off, so I could just concentrate on doing what I wanted to do," Cullen told BBC Sport NI.
"Last year was such a rough year and I couldn't be more thankful for my team, family and friends getting me back to this point.
"I'm just looking to push forward from these performances. I haven't had lots of long course racing this year, but have been able to chip away at my times and can push on to summer."
Shortt and Kelly set new records
John Shortt and Jack Kelly produced excellent produced excellent performances to set new Irish and Championship records on Thursday.
Shortt won the 100m backstroke final in 53.17, setting the fourth fasted time in the world this year, with the 19-year-old under the consideration time for the the European Aquatics Championships.
Kelly took the 50m breaststroke title with a time of 26.84 on his debut at the championships with the New York-born 23-year-old, whose mother hails from Cork, also under the European consideration time.
National Centre Ulster's Rosalie Phelan set a new championship record of 26.62 in the 50m butterfly, holding off club-mate Alana Burns Atkin in second and Danielle Hill in third.
Olympic medallist Mona McSharry took the 50m breaststroke title with Ellen Walshe winning her second title of the week with a time of 3:39.38 seeing her home in the 400m individual medley final.
Bangor's James Ward won the Open 50m butterfly final in 24.17, followed by Lisburn City's Dylan Registe in 24.30 and National Centre Limerick's Jack Cassin in 24.49.
The competition continues on Friday and concludes on Sunday.
