The 2026 Para Swimming World Series in Barcelona concluded with a gold medal for Ireland in the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay, bringing a strong week of racing to a close for the Irish team.
Barry McClements, Ellie Lynch, Luke O’Donoghue and Dearbhaile Brady combined to clock 4:42.41, securing top spot on the podium and Ireland’s first gold of the meet.
The relay performance followed a series of consistent swims and podium finishes across the four days of competition.
On the opening night, Dearbhaile Brady won silver in the 50m Butterfly (S6), touching in 36.48, improving on her morning swim to secure second place.
“I feel quite good,” Brady said afterwards. “You always want to come back faster in a final, so I’m happy with that.”
Luke Brennan also reached the podium on day one, winning youth silver in the 100m Freestyle (S8) in a time of 1:07.25.
“I’m delighted – it’s an amazing achievement,” Brennan said. “Wearing the Irish flag is the biggest honour to me.”
Róisín Ní Riain opened her competition with a lifetime best of 1:01.67 in the 100m Freestyle (S13) heats before returning to swim 1:01.68 in the final. She later placed fifth in the 100m Breaststroke (SB13) in 1:18.88.
Deaten Registe recorded a season’s best of 1:08.47 in the 100m Breaststroke (SB14) final and a lifetime best of 2:12.75 in the 200m Freestyle heats.
Luke O’Donoghue secured Ireland’s third medal of the meet on day two, winning youth silver in the 100m Breaststroke (S9) with a lifetime best of 1:10.21. He followed this with a second youth silver in the 100m Backstroke (S9), again posting a strong performance in the final.
Ellie Lynch recorded a lifetime best of 1:13.19 in the heats of the 100m Freestyle (S9) and went on to compete in multiple youth finals across the week, including a sixth-place finish in the 100m Backstroke (S9).
Elsewhere, Barry McClements continued his racing programme across freestyle and backstroke events, while Maya Hogan and Sam Black both posted competitive times and personal bests across their events.
The Barcelona leg of the World Series provided an early international racing opportunity for the Irish squad, with multiple personal bests, finals appearances and five podium finishes, including relay gold on the final day.
