McCullough is the King!

CLOGHERHEAD swimmer Jack McCullough was among the prizes again at the weekend as he was declared overall winner of the Northern Ireland H2O Swim Series ‘Junior King Award’.

None other than 1972 Olympic Pentathlon champion and World record holder Dame Mary Peters presented Jack with the eye-catching crown-shaped trophy, which followed his consistently strong performances over the nine-race series.

The presentations took place immediately after the final race at Groomsport, where Jack won the Junior Men’s section and collected the second-placed prize in the hotly contested Senior Men’s competition. The Drogheda Triathlon Club member was also second in the senior section the week before in extremely challenging sea conditions at the Island Dhu Sea Swim in Portrush.

Jack is also ranked seventh in the Global Swim Series rankings at present in the Senior Men’s Wetsuit division. He is ranked first in the U-19 Wetsuit Division.

The Global Swim Series is the largest swim series in the world, with more than 37,000 swimmers, 90 races and at least 27 competing countries including America, Canada, Australia and Germany. Swimmers are able to compete against each other around the world with their unique Global Ranking System that recognises participation, age and speed in calculating the points.

Jack is hoping to gain qualification to the GSS Global Championships in 2017 in America.

The previous weekend Jack competed in the Ardee 6km ‘Run for Suicide’ hosted by John Mitchel’s GFC. With more than 100 runners the course was run over a hilly terrain, with strong winds on the day, but Jack led from the start and won the race by a two-minute margin over a DkIT athlete. Jack was presented with his winning trophy by the founder of ‘Cycle/ Run Against Suicide’ and Irish entrepreneur Jim Breen.

The same week St Joseph’s CBS student Jack picked up his Junior Cert results which were as impressive as his recent sporting accolades.