Swimmer Claire O’Connell. Photo by Mark O’Sullivan.
Tralee swimmer Claire O’Connell is a world champion, producing a personal-best time in Qatari capital Doha to take a gold medal at the World Aquatic Masters Championship.
Claire (32) recorded the fastest time today (Wednesday, February 28) in the 50-metre women’s breaststroke event. She raced in the 30-34 age category, and her time of 34.07 seconds was enough to take the title – albeit by an incredibly tight margin, 0.02 seconds ahead of the second-placed Hungarian swimmer.
The Kingdom Masters Swimming Club member, who comes from Oakview, is racing in multiple events at this week’s competitions in Qatar, with participation in the 200-metre individual medley and 200-metre breaststroke still to come. She also recorded a top-five finish in Tuesday’s 100-metre breaststroke competition in the same age category.