Irish Down Syndrome Swimming

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8Th European Down Syndrome Swimming Championships Albufeira Portugal

Summary and Recap

In total 7 swimmers represented IDSSO and team Ireland at the European Championships .

Our athletes swam in 71 races and achieved 49 Pbs during the tournament which at 69% is remarkable rate of improvement so well done to all involved athletes, team coaches and club coaches.

Medals

15 finals reached

1 European Championship gold medal
3 European Championship bronze medals
2 European Championship relay team bronze medals

Category medals
4 gold medals
5 silver medals
6 bronze medals

A big thank you to our hosts Portugal for a great competition , well organised and run with fantastic hospitality to all who attended the Championship.
Thank you to all the countries who participated and made the tournament so competitive . Old friendships renewed and new friendships formed in the true spirit of the Championships .
To all of team Ireland coaches, parents and supporters ,thanks you most sincerely for your help , encouragement and daily support for our super athletes.
Concluding a week full of moments of pride involves reflecting on achievements, acknowledging challenges, expressing gratitude and setting positive intentions for the future .It’s a moment to savor successes and learn from experiences before transitioning to well deserved rest or the next set of opportunities.
The journey begins to our next tournament ..World Down Syndrome Championship Portugal 2026
Go Team ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🥰

Coaches World Record performance :

Congrats to our coaches Niall and Johanna who gave us all a great finish to the championship by winning the coaches race and achieving a New Championship World Record.
Our athletes were very happy to give advice and critique to our coaches and also congratulation on a superb swim

Well done Niall and Johanna who kept the Irish flag flying right to the finish 🇮🇪🥰🇮🇪

Go team Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
Race video to follow

8Th European Dowm Syndrome Swimming Championships Albuferia Portugal.

Day 4

10 swims with 9 pbs achieved

Swimmers reached 4 finals
Robbie English 200M Backstroke final finished 1St and received Gold medal
Fionn Denn 200M backstroke final finished in 8Th place
Kevin Kennedy 100M Butterfly final finished in 8Th place
David Hogg 400M IM final finished in 3Rd place and received Bronze medal
Men’s 4* 50 M IM relay final 4Th place
Team: Robbie English, David Hogg, Kevin Kennedy & Eoghan Ashe

Catagory medals
Robbie English 200M backstroke Senior Gold medal
Kevin Kennedy 100M Butterfly Masters 1 Gold medal
David Hogg 400M IM Senior Gold medal

Day 5

14 swims with 7 pbs achieved
Swimmers reached 1 final
Robbie English 100M IM finished in 7Th place
Men’s 4* 50M Relay final finished 4Th
Team: Robbie English, Kevin Kennedy, Eoin Rooney & Eoghan Ashe

Catagory medals
Robbie English 100M IM senior bronze medal

Coaches Relay finished 1St in a new World record time of 2:10:40🎉🥳👏🍾🙌🇺🇸🇮🇪🇯🇵🇮🇪
Team Aaron Helander USA, Johanna Tilly Rock Ireland, Naofumi Okutani Japan and Niall Molloy Ireland
Photos and video to follow

More success from the 8th European Down Syndrome Championships in Albuferia Portugal on Wednesday 29th October 2025
David Hogg representing Ireland and Mullingar jets achieved a great bronze medal in the 400 IM in a new European Championship time of 7:07:20👌
Congrats David from all at IDSSO
Photos below of David and his Mum Ann Marie after the race and medal ceremony .
A very special day for David’s family and club coach at Mullingar Jets
A proud day for our coaches Niall , Johanna & Sinead .
.
The medal presentation to David Hogg for his Bronze medal will follow
Stay tuned for more updates

More success from the 8th European Down Syndrome Championships in Albuferia Portugal on Friday 31St October 2025
David Hogg representing Ireland and Mullingar jets achieved a great bronze medal in the 400 IM in a new European Championship time of 7:07:20👌
Congrats David from all at IDSSO
Photos below of David and his Mum Ann Marie after the race and medal ceremony .
A very special day for David’s family and club coach at Mullingar Jets
A proud day for our coaches Niall , Johanna & Sinead .
.
The medal presentation video will follow in a separate post.
Stay tuned for more updates later
Pleased share our posts to family and friends and spread the word about this memorable achievement 🙏
Go team Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🥇

Breaking News from the 8th European Down Syndrome Championships in Albuferia Portugal on Friday 31St October 2025
A first male Gold Medal 🥇 in individual competition for ISSSO Irelands Robbie English 🇮🇪 Congratulations from all at IDSSO to Robbie on this amazing and outstanding achievement.
Great race by Robbie and the fingertip winning finish was fantastic .
Some photos below to record this superb occasion of Robbie and his Mum Ann after the race and medal ceremony .
A very special day for Robbie’s family and club coach in Kilkenny
A proud day for our coaches Niall , Johanna & Sinead 🙏🇮🇪
.
The medal presentation video will follow in a separate post.
Stay tuned for more updates later
Pleased share our posts to family and friends and spread the word about this memorable achievement 🙏
Go team Ireland 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🥇

IDSSO team Ireland results from the first 3 days of competition at the 8th European Down syndrome Championships in Albuferia Portugal

Day 1
19 races and 14 Pbs
4 finals reached
David Hogg 200 M Backstroke finished 7th
Robbie English, 100 M Front crawl finished 7th
Robbie English, 50 M Back crawl finished 4th
Anna Hennessy, 50 M Back crawl finished 5th
Mens 4 x 100 meters I.M finished 3rd
Team Robbie English, David Hogg, Kevin Kennedy & Eoghan Ashe.

Category medals
Anna Hennessy, 50 M Back crawl
Masters 1 received silver medal
David Hogg 200 M Backstroke Senior received Bronze medal
Robbie English 100 M front crawl Senior received bronze medal
Robbie English 50 M Back crawl Senior received Gold medal

Day 2
15 races and 8 Pbs
3 Finals reached
Robbie English 200 M Front crawl finished 4th
David Hogg 50 M Butterfly finished 8th
Anna Hennessy 50 M Butterfly finished 8th
Mens 4 x 100 M Front crawl relay finished 4th
Robbie English, David Hogg , Kevin Kennedy & Eoghan Ashe.

Catagory medals
Robbie English, 200 M free style Senior received Sliver medal
David Hogg, 50 M butterfly Senior received Bronze medal
Anna Hennessy, 50 M butterfly Masters 1 received Silver medal

Day 3
13 raced and 11 Pbs
3 Finals reached
David Hogg 200 M I.M, finished 8th
Robbie English 800 M freestyle finished 3rd
Robbie English 100 M back crawl finished 3rd
Mens 4 x 200 M Front crawl relay finished 3Rd
Robbie English, David Hogg, Kevin Kennedy & Fionn Denn.

Category medals
David Hogg 200 M I.M Senior received Bronze medal
Robbie English 100 M Back crawl Senior, received Silver medal
Kevin Kennedy 100 M back crawl Masters 1, received Bronze medal
Robbie English 800 M freestyle Senior received silver medal
Photos
Top Coaches and athletes
Left Athletes with medals
Right Coaches , athletes and supporters/family

Congratulations to all our swimmers and coaches on an excellent performance and fantastic achievement from all at IDSSO
Go Team Ireland 🇮🇪

Barbara Higgins from SU-DS Sports Union for athletes with Down Syndrome dropped by to say hello and wish our team well at the 8Th Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Albuferia Portugal 🇵🇹