National team Ireland Height 1.98 m | Sport Swimming Weight 89 kg | |
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Born 27 January 1994 (age 23) Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States Strokes Freestyle swimming, Backstroke | ||
Shane Ryan (b. 27 January 1994) is an American-born swimmer who competes internationally for Ireland.
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Personal life
Ryan's father, Thomas, emigrated from Portarlington, Co. Laois in the 1980s; Ryan has Irish citizenship through him and can therefore swim under the Irish flag. His mother, Mary Beth Bonner, is also of Irish descent and won the Miss Mayo pageant in 1986. Ryan was raised in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and is currently studying for a degree in sports management at Penn State University.
Career
Ryan was a 16-time All-American and 11-time All-State honoree as a swimmer for Haverford Senior High School. He was a member of the US National Junior Team in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Ryan initially competed at the US Olympics trials in 2012, finishing in 28th, which did not qualify him for the US team. He subsequently switched his allegiance to Ireland. Ryan qualified to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics by swimming under the Olympic Qualifying time in the 100m backstroke at the Swim Ulster Dave McCullagh Meet in March 2016.
In the 2016 Olympics, he made it out of the heats of the 100m backstroke to qualify for the semi-finals with a personal best time of 53.85.