Aisling Cooney, a young local swimmer is preparing, under the coaching of Bill McCarthy, to try for the European Junior Championships in Budapest next May. Succeeding at this would allow her to go on to qualify for a place on the Irish team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Aisling greeted me at the door of her Sandymount house with a wide smile. Aisling’s love of swimming began when she was very young. She recalls the fun of being in the pool with her dad as a toddler and how her swimming developed during her years in Scoil Mhuire with Grainne Greene as her coach.

By a stroke of luck, at the age of 11 whilst swimming in the ESB SportsCo with her brothers, the swimming coach, Bill McCarthy, saw her and recognised her potential.

Since then it has been all go for Aisling whose swimming successes began when, at 11 years of age, she achieved Second overall at the Irish Open Age Group Championships in Athlone.

Her many accomplishments in 2005 include the winning in May of four Irish Junior titles and 10 Junior and Senior medals in the National Championships in Lisburn in August.

Training continues, with planned visits to competitions in Cork and in December to the Long Course Gala in Bath, where qualifying trials for the European Junior Championships will be held.

Aisling, now in transition year at St Louis High School in Rathmines, says she is aware that her lifestyle is different from many of her peers. Her commitment to competitive swimming requires that she train for 13 and a half hours every week plus at least one hour in the gym.

This, along with study requirements, takes up much of her after-school hours. She knows that in comparison to her peers she has less time to give to socializing but adds, with a huge grin, that the challenges and successes of her life as a swimmer bring their own exciting rewards and also the company of club friends equally committed to swimming.

Bill McCarthy says: “Aisling is a super girl, quick, intelligent, and very talented, who knows how to keep a clear head when under pressure.”

Aisling herself spoke of how important it is for her to have a positive attitude and sees how winning encourages hard work.

On her recent award of the Swimmer of the Year trophy in the ESB club, she commented: “I just couldn’t stop smiling, it was really exciting and a great thrill.” And indeed Aisling was still smiling as she accompanied me to the hall door.