Jack’s on course for Global success
CLOGHERHEAD native Jack McCullough is within touching distance of a World title in the Global Swim Series after another outstanding run of results in open-water events this year.
The former Drogheda Independent Young Sport Star of the Year had been out of competitive action for nine months due to injury and his Leaving Certificate study commitments, but he returned to training with Drogheda Triathlon Club, who sponsor him, prior to the Leaving for some conditioning work ahead of some big events during the summer.
His goal for the summer was to ease back into competition via the Sea Swimming events post Leaving Certificate, but his favourite race – the Aura Boyne Swim - fell in the middle of the exams and he couldn’t resist lining out, competing in the Senior category for the first time having just turned 18. While not in peak condition, McCullough was happy to finish third in the Senior Men’s Wetsuit division.
Next up was a gruelling 7.5km event at the Infinity ‘Battle of Carlingford Lough’ where McCullough swam from Omeath to Carlingford to finish second in the Senior Male Wetsuit category.
He had another runner-up finish in the same category at the Swim Ulster Open Water Swimming Championships at Knockbracken Reservoir outside Belfast, this time over the shorter 1.5km distance.
The following week McCullough competed in the Rostrevor to Warrenpoint 3.7km Sea Swimming Event to finish second Senior Male in rough, rainy conditions.
McCullough then returned to his native village to compete in a race that has a deep emotional connection to him, having become the youngest ever to swim the route when competing in his first-ever Sea Race at the age of 12. Again, he finished second in the Senior Male Wetsuit division.
An hour later McCullough attempted the Clogherhead 1km Green Buoy Swim and this time won the Senior Skins division.
Then it was onto the Global Swim Series (GSS) Hodson Bay 1km and 2km swims, both held on the same day, where he finished first in the Under-19 Section to take top points in both races in his division.
A large number of podium finishes followed over the ensuing weeks in Donegal, Belfast, Camlough and Portrush where he finished third senior in very rough seas.
He was second senior male in the Grand Dublin Swim and overtook more than 300 other swimmers on his way to an impressive points tally towards the GSS Swim Series at the Liffey Swim which saw each competitor given a handicap.
McCullough then competed at the Irish Long Distance Swimming Association National Championships where he emerged in first place after 10km of continuous swimming to take the National title and Martin Cullen Cup.
Completing a gruelling summer, McCullough travelled to take part in the Ballygally Beach Swim on the Antrim coast, and again he navigated his lines to perfection as he emerged from the cold waters to win the Senior Men’s division.
The next morning he was in Wicklow for the Glendalough 4km Lake race which was also part of the GSS, with more than 200 swimmers competing from around the world. This time McCullough won the Under-19 category and earned full GSS points, and the same weekend McCullough was in Bangor in Northern Ireland for the Big Bay 1500m Swim where he became the youngest swimmer ever to win the Senior Men’s Northern Ireland H2O ‘King of the Series’ title.
That success, achieved through amassing the most number of points from 12 races, crowned a fantastic season for McCullough, testimony to his hard training schedule, dedication, commitment and consistency.
He currently leads the Under-19 Wetsuit section and is third senior male in the Global Swim Series (GSS), the world’s largest swim series where more than 100,000 swimmers from 37 countries registered for 2018. Swimmers compete around the world against each other using a unique Global Ranking System that recognises both speed and participation when calculating the points.
In between all the training and events, McCullough, who now lives in Drumcar, earned a tremendous Leaving Certificate from St Joseph’s Secondary School and will soon begin studying secondary school teaching at the St Patricks Campus of DCU.
However, he is also eyeing a possible World title in the Global Swim Series, and any companies or organisations that would like to help with the costs of travel to these events are asked to phone 087-9944799 for more information.