ADRIAN O'CONNOR swept to an Irish 100 metres backstroke record on the final day of the British Grand Prix Super finals in Sheffield, to enhance his Olympic selection.
It was a gutsy performance by the 23 year old from New Ross against one of the world's top backstrokers, Martin Harris, of Tower Hamlets. The 27 year old Londoner finished first in 56.47 seconds with O'Connor second in 57.56, shaving one fifth of a second off his own Irish record he set in Edinburgh in 1974. A bonus for Ireland was the form of his young brother Hugh, who finished third in 58.99 seconds.
Lee Kelleher, of City of Cork, completed a hat trick of Irish junior records in the senior women's 100 metre butterfly final. The 13 year old destroyed the eight year old record set by Niamh Campbell in Edinburgh by 2.05 seconds. She finished fourth in 63.86 seconds, missing a silver medal by just 0.26 seconds. Britain's Olympic veteran was first (61.82).
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