Ailis McSweeney
Encyclopedia
Ailis McSweeney is an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

 who specialises in 60
60 metres
60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...

(indoor) and 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

. She currently holds the Irish record at 100 metres, having posted a time of 11.40 s at an IAAF permit event in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. She won the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 at the 2005 Summer Universiade
Athletics at the 2005 Summer Universiade
The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics* - FIBU...

 and Bronze in the 4x100 m Relay. She also reached the semi-finals of the 100 m at the 2010 European Athletics Championships. She also competes over 60 metres
60 metres
60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...

 and was a semi-finalist at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...

. She also finished ninth overall at the 2010 European Championships in Athletics
2010 European Championships in Athletics
The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain from 27 July to 1 August 2010...

, having missed out on a spot in the final by a one hundereth of a second. McSweeney competed in the 4x100 m relay at the same championships with Amy Foster
Amy Foster
"Amy Foster" is a short story by Joseph Conrad written in 1901. It was first published in the Illustrated London News , and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories ....

, Niamh Whelan and Claire Brady. McSweeney ran the anchor leg alongside Olympic legend Merlene Ottey
Merlene Ottey
Merlene Joyce Ottey , is a Jamaican-born Slovenian track athlete. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica, but since 2002, has represented Slovenia, where she now resides...

 to finish fourth, and missed out on a spot in the final by 0.03 of a second.

McSweeney participated in the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...

 in the Women's 60 metres
60 metres
60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...

. In her first round heat, she finished fourth behind winner Hrystyna Stuy
Hrystyna Stuy
Hrystyna Stuy is a Ukrainian sprint athlete who specializes in the 100 metres.In the 4 x 100 metres relay she competed at the 2009 World Championships without reaching the final...

, Myriam Soumaré
Myriam Soumaré
Myriam Soumaré is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for France. At the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, she won the gold medal in the 200 m meters with a time of 22.32 seconds in lane 8, shaving her previous personal best by 0.69s in doing so, and a bronze...

 and youngster, Jodie Williams
Jodie Williams
Jodie Alicia Williams is a junior British sprinter, who specialises in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. She is the former World Youth Champion over both distances, the reigning World Junior and European Junior Champion in the 100 m and European Junior Champion in the 200 m.Williams had...

 in a time of 7.38 and qualified as a fastest loser. In her semi-final, she started very strongly but ended up finishing seventh with Mariya Ryemyen
Mariya Ryemyen
Mariya Ryemyen is a Ukrainian sprint athlete who specializes in the 100 metres. Ryemyen was part of the Ukrainian women's 4x100m that won gold during the during the 2010 European Athletics with 42.29 – the fastest time in the world that year.-Career:She finished seventh at the 2009 European U23...

 winning the race in a time of 7.16, Véronique Mang
Véronique Mang
Véronique Mang is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for France.She arrived in France with her mother, brother and sister in 1995. She represented Cameroon until 2003 when she gained French citizenship. She started running at age 12 in France...

 finishing second and Hrystyna Stuy
Hrystyna Stuy
Hrystyna Stuy is a Ukrainian sprint athlete who specializes in the 100 metres.In the 4 x 100 metres relay she competed at the 2009 World Championships without reaching the final...

 finishing third. Mcsweeney clocked a time of 7.34, which was not enough to advance and was 0.04 off the national record set by Anna Boyle

McSweeney missed the Irish National Championships due to injury and was unable to defend her title. Amy Foster
Amy Foster
"Amy Foster" is a short story by Joseph Conrad written in 1901. It was first published in the Illustrated London News , and was collected in Typhoon and Other Stories ....

 eventually took both the 100
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

 and 200 metre
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

 titles.

Biographical information

Ailis McSweeney was born on October 4, 1983; her home town is Carrigtwohill
Carrigtwohill
Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill , is a village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland with a population of 4,869 . It is located east of Cork city, bypassed by the N25 road and is part of Metropolitan Cork. Carrigtwohill is one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. It is a major...

 in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

. She is affiliated with the Leevale Athletic Club in Cork City, Ireland. McSweeney attended school at St. Aloysius' College in Carrigtwohill, where she led a 4 x 100 metres relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...

 team that went undefeated during her time there. She went on to undergraduate study at University College Cork, finishing a BCL degree in 2004; McSweeney was selected to participate in the Law Faculty Annual Moot Court during her final year. In 2006 she studied for a Master's Degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in Globalisation at the Dublin City University
Dublin City University
Dublin City University is a university situated between Glasnevin, Santry, Ballymun and Whitehall on the Northside of Dublin in Ireland...

 School of Law and Government while preparing to become a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

.

She currently works for A & L Goodbody in the International Financial Services Centre
International Financial Services Centre
The International Financial Services Centre is a major financial services centre in North Wall, Dublin, Ireland. The centre employs 14,000 people and was the brainchild of an associate of businessman Dermot Desmond...

.

External links

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