Galway swimmer Shortt powers to European Senior 200m backstroke glory
GALWAY swimming sensation John Shortt heads into the Irish Short Course Championships this weekend with a European gold medal in his pocket and a staggering 15 new records to his credit following his stunning performances at the European Short-Course Championships in Poland last week.
The Roscam teenager was crowned the best 200m backstroke swimmer in Europe on Wednesday night last, and he has a golden case to be regarded the world’s best, after claiming the title in a new world junior record.
That winning time was also a new European Junior and championship record, as well as a new Irish senior and junior record: on top of those international best-times, Shortt also set 12 new Irish records – six senior and six junior – across the championships, where he competed in the 50m Backstroke, 100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, and Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay.
Having made a splash in junior competitions up until now, including claiming both the 2025 European and World Junior titles, this was the city native’s first senior international medal, and he smashed the national record not once, but twice, on his way to claiming gold in the 200m.
In what was a stunning performance in Wednesday’s final, the 18-year-old set a new World Junior, European Junior, and Championship record of 1mins 47.89secs, breaking Russian Kliment Kolesnikov’s time of 1mins 48.02secs which had stood since 2017.
He had set a new Irish senior and junior record of 1min 50.65secs when winning his heat on Tuesday morning; and he went even faster in the semi-finals, coming home in a time of 1mins 48.84secs, the only swimmer across the two semi-finals to dip below 1 minute 49 seconds to advance as top seed for the final, where he set even more records.
He stuck to his race plan to perfection, tailing Mewen Tomac from France for the first six of the eight lengths of the 25m pool before making his move at the 150m mark to touch home in 0.73 of a second ahead of the Frenchman.
“I’d be a massive liar if I said I didn’t think I had that in me,” Shortt said after the 200m final. “I honestly didn’t really think I was going to lose that. I just felt something last [Tuesday] night, where I just felt unbeatable and, you know, now it’s just pride, it’s just washing over me now and I just honestly can't believe it, it’s amazing.
“I’ve won medals in the past before, but that’s at junior level and now I’m with the big boys and I don’t know, I stood with my heart on my sleeve, you know, I’m a passionate person, I’m so passionate for this flag that’s wrapped around me,” he said of the Irish tricolour draped across his shoulders.
Pictured: Galway swimmer John Shortt salutes the crowd after winning the European Senior Championships 200m backstroke title in Lublin, Poland.