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ONE YEAR TO GO UNTIL THE PARA SWIMMING EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, DUBLIN 2018

Sunday (13 August) officially marked one year to go until the start of the World Para Swimming European Championships, which will take place at Dublin's National Aquatic Centre. 

This key milestone comes just a month after Paralympics Ireland together with its event partners; Swim Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Sport Ireland, were officially announced as the hosts for this prestigious Para sport event. 

The video commissioned to celebrate the Championships can be viewed on www.paralympics.ie/Dublin2018 and can be downloaded from www.youtube.com/paralympicsireland.

As the Local Organising Committee (LOC) starts to build momentum, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Mayo native, Ms. Sinéad Gordon as the Event Director for these Championships which will take place from 13th – 19th of August 2018. 

As Event Director, Sinéad Gordon will be responsible for working closely with partners and international governing body, World Para Swimming, on the planning, organisation and delivery of the event.

As an event management professional, with over 10 years' experience in the sports industry, Sinéad, a Sport Science graduate from the University of Limerick has worked across numerous international events, including London 2012, Baku 2015 and most recently Ashgabat 2017.   She has also held roles for National Governing Bodies and International Federations during her time with Basketball Ireland, British Basketball and FIBA.

Speaking on her appointment as Event Director, Sinéad Gordon was keen to share some insight into the vision her and the team have for the event next year and indeed what her current focus is since taking on the role. 

“Ultimately the athletes and the sport must be at the centre of our planning process.  We are expecting over 500 world class professional swimmers to descend on the Aquatic Centre for seven days of competition next August and we must ensure that they do not have to concern themselves with anything else except their performance in the pool.â€

Commenting on the one year to go milestone, Miriam Malone, CEO of Paralympics Ireland and Chairperson of the LOC said: “We are delighted to have Sinead Gordon on board as Event Director for the European Championships in Dublin. Sinead's experience will help us to plan and organise the event to world class level, which we on the LOC are very much looking forward to.â€

The hosting of this event highlights Para swimming in Ireland and offers a legacy opportunity for future Para swimmers to get involved.