Swimmers were all smiles at the end of the 5th Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim in Galway, Ireland this past weekend.

Ronan Collins, co-organizer with Kevin Thornton whose mother is the event namesake, won overall in 3 hours and 3 minutes, followed by Sorcha Barry and Susana Murphy, both in 3 hours and 4 minutes.

Amiee Walsh (3:10), Stephen Early (3:17), Laoise Mc Namara (3:21), Sarah Early (3:22), Jillian Coll (3:25), Simon Flatley (3:28), Martin Kenirons (3:36), Kevin Thornton (3:38), Grainne Reed (4:00), Sinead Roche (4:11), Micheal Hanly (4:13), Cathal Hanly (4:23), Fergal O Dowd (5:00), Matt O Flaherty (5:01), Alice Flood (5:12) and Martin Mc Carthy (5:33) also finished.

One notable finisher was Ernesto Antonio (5:22) who is survived – and flourished – as a heart transplant recipient. As a charity swim, over €160,000 has been raised for Cancer Care West as a result of this swim and its four earlier edition.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven Munatones