Galway swimming sensation John Shortt has become just the second-ever Irish swimmer to be crowned World Junior Champion after he took gold in the 100m Backstroke at the World Aquatics Junior Championships in Romania on Wednesday evening.

The Roscam teenager is now both the reigning European and World champion, having also won the 100m backstroke at the 2025 European Aquatics Championships in Slovakia back in early July.

The 18-years-old, who began his swimming career with Bluefin Swimming Club in Kilcornan in Clarinbridge before moving to the National Training Centre in Limerick, took the world gold medal in 53.86, 0.08 of a second ahead of silver medallist, neutral athlete Georgii Iakovlev in 53.94; while the USA’s Gavin Keogh came home third in a time of 54.06.

Turning third at the halfway mark in 26.17, the Galway man was back in a speedy 27.69, for his second fastest time ever, just outside the 53.80 Irish Junior record he set in Tuesday’s semi-final. Both times were faster that the 54.09 seconds he swam to take European gold in Slovakia.

“It feels pretty good, just so much pride at the minute, getting up there, singing my national anthem, on a world stage now, not just a European stage, I’m just so proud to be Irish and proud to be here,” the former Calasanctius College student said.

“It’s been a long season, but to end it like that, it’s just so cool. The meet is not finished, but I’m just saying, the last 100m Back [backstroke]of the season, we’ve ended on a positive note so, I’m very happy with that,” he said.

He was back in the pool yesterday morning, where he breezed through the heats of the 50m backstroke in a time of 25.60 seconds to qualify seventh fastest for last night’s semi-finals, having skipped the 50m at the World Championships in Singapore three weeks ago.

It has been an incredible year for Shortt. As well as winning gold in the 100m backstroke in Slovakia, he also won bronze in the 200m backstroke; while he reached the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore three weeks ago.

“The race went really well,” he said of Wednesday’s World Junior final.

“I was just holding on for dear life towards the end, but we got the hand on the wall first and that’s really all that matters. The strategy, that my amazing coach [John Szaranek] put in to place was we had to be out with the guys, because they were out so much quicker than me last night [Tuesday’s semi-finals] and you know they were beating me to the first 50m.

“So you know as long as I went with them, I knew I had a chance to come back quicker than they did and that’s exactly what happened, so all part of my brilliant coach’s strategy,” said Shortt, who now joins Mona McSharry as Ireland’s only other World Junior Champion – the Sligo swimmer and Paris Olympic bronze medallist from last year won 100m breaststroke gold and 50m breaststroke bronze in the USA in 2017.

Pictured: John Shortt reacts after realising he had just won the World Junior 100m backstroke title. Photo: Istvan Derencsenyi/World Aquatics.