Ireland Set for Four Euroepan Finals on Final Day in Kocaeli

Ireland will have four swimmers in action on the final night of racing at the World Para Swimming European Championships in Kocaeli, with Róisín Ní Riain and Dearbhaile Brady returning to the blocks, while Luke O’Donoghue and Ellie Lynch prepare to make their European final debuts.

Fresh off the back of winning her third European medal last night, Róisín Ní Riain was back on the blocks to compete in the 400m Freestyle (S13). With one swimmer not reporting to the call room, all eight remaining competitors were assured of a place in tonight’s final before entering the water. Ní Riain cruised through the heats in a time of 5:09.30, finishing fifth overall and securing her lane in the final.

The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer said: “We saw in the call room that someone didn’t show up, so it meant that all eight of us made it, so it was literally just getting in and getting the job done this morning. We’ll have a good go at it tonight. The aim in a lot of these heats is to conserve energy where we can and leave it all out there when we need it. We’ll have one good final push tonight.”

Ireland’s Dearbhaile Brady was also back in the pool following her third European silver medal last night. Competing in the 100m Breaststroke (SB6), the National Centre (Dublin) swimmer clocked a new lifetime best of 1:47.03, qualifying for tonight’s final as the third-fastest swimmer.

Brady said: “I’m happy with that. It’s the last event, so I’m just going to enjoy it. I’ll be happy to leave this event with a PB. I’m going to give it everything tonight and see how it goes.”

Luke O’Donoghue, who had a long wait to make his senior international debut for Ireland, stepped onto the centre stage to compete in the 100m Backstroke (S9). The Kerry native could not have asked for a better debut, swimming a new lifetime best of 1:08.74 to advance to his first European final.

Speaking after the race, the Tralee native said: “The last 25m felt absolutely horrendous, but I got the job done in the end. I suppose it’s got to hurt to get the PB, so I’m very happy. My goal going into this morning was to make the final. I knew it was going to be tough and that I would have to swim a best time in the heats, so I’m delighted. Waiting around until today wasn’t too bad. Supporting the team every race and seeing them do so well definitely gave me a boost going into the last day.”

Luke Brennan made his second appearance of the European Championships in Kocaeli, this time competing in the 200m Individual Medley (SM8). The 17-year-old clocked his second personal best of the week, stopping the clock at 2:46.60 to knock just over two seconds off his previous best of 2:48.96.

Brennan said: “I’m really happy with that swim. That was another PB, and my goal coming into this competition was just to set PBs, and I’ve done that in both my events. I’m really happy that at the big competitions I’m able to perform and swim best times. So I’m delighted. The week has been great. I’ve never experienced anything like it. The atmosphere is amazing and the level of competition is a big step up from what I’m used to. It’s great to push myself.”

Róisín Ní Riain and Dearbhaile Brady will return to the final stage one last time, while Ellie Lynch and Luke O’Donoghue will make their European final debuts.