Jack Cassin joins the F-Team
Our newest Irish signing, Jack Cassin, has gone full-circle and is now back in Ireland after a lengthy stint in Singapore. Cassin hit qualifying times for both the Junior Worlds and European Juniors in 2022, and recently qualified for the 2023 LEN European U23 Swimming Championships after a stellar performance at the 2023 Irish National Championships earlier this month.
Having moved back to Ireland from Singapore recently, Jack has seen a lot of the world in his career thus far. He had been training in Singapore for 9 years prior and spent a month last year in Arizona at a high-altitude camp with the Irish national team. “I’d say my biggest achievement so far is having an Irish junior record for 400m IM in SCM," he said, and he has also participated twice on the FINA World Cup circuit.
The change and adaptation to the contrast in climates adds to the rigours of training, however at least for Jack he is back home and in familiar territory. “I’ve just moved back to Ireland and, in comparison to Singapore, the training is very similar apart from the fact in Singapore the pool is outside because it’s always warm.”
Honing the finer skills is critical for an elite swimmer and Jack places a major focus on the smaller things in his training. “I try to focus on technique and trying to minimise any risk of sickness or injury. My favourite training set is a 4x100 IM order race pace on 1:30. It depends if I feel well then I love the set but if I’m sore then it’s very painful.”
Jack is a creature of habit on race day, where sticking to a plan surely enables him to focus and minimise those pre-race nerves. “My routine on race day is very structured. I always make sure to load on carbs and energy and take 40 minutes for a warmup of around 1.2-1.4K and just repeat that for heats and finals.”
With a dream place to compete being in Africa, the Irishman also loves playing volleyball, eating good food and napping. Stay tuned to our socials to follow Jack Cassin through the new year as he aims high in 2023.