Rising star Conroy made his Mark in 2025
Swimmer Mark Conroy from Ballina is among the winners in the 2025 Western People Mayo Sports Stars which will be presented at Breaffy House Hotel on Saturday, February 7.
Of all the strides that Irish sport has made on the international stage, it’s arguable that our swimmers have made the biggest gains of all, particularly in light of the medals won at the last Olympics. So to think that Mayo has a young man making some serious waves in the pool is very exciting indeed.
If 2024 was something of a breakout year for Mark Conroy when winning the Irish title for his age in the 100m breaststroke, the Ballina Dolphins swimmer solidified his place among the country’s elite youths in the last 12 months with some exceptional results that demonstrated both his versatility and dedication.
Competing at the Irish Summer National Youth and Senior Championships held late July/early August, Mark qualified for five U16 finals in three different strokes. His standout result came on the opening day of the championships where he touched the wall in 1:08.83 to win silver in the ultra-competitive 100m breaststroke final, pipped only by the boy he had beaten in the previous year’s final. In the 200m breaststroke final, Mark quite incredibly took almost 10 seconds off his previous best time to finish fourth, less than three seconds off the winner.
The St Muredach’s College student also qualified for the 100m and 200m backstroke finals and the 50m freestyle, in which he set another personal best, having also raced in the heats of the 50m breaststroke, 100m free (another PB) and 200m Individual Medley during an exhaustive three days at the National Aquatic Centre.
Under the tutelage Yvonne Ward, his dedicated coach, Mark would back up those performances later in the year when excelling at the Irish Winter Championships where he produced two more PBs, including an outstanding 1.5 seconds off his time for the 100m breaststroke in which he specialises. It makes him the second fastest 16-year-old in the country.
Added to his quartet of gold medals, trio of silver medals and one bronze that he won at the Leinster and Connacht Long Course Championships in May, some wonderful medal-winning performances at the Connacht Short Course Championships, and gold and silver medals won at the Connacht Schools Championships, and it’s safe to say the name of Mark Conroy is one we’ll be hearing much more about.
