Ellen Keane finished fifth in the SM9 200m individual medley final after a gutsy performance on Wednesday morning.
Keane faced an uphill task to make the podium, starting in lane one, but she made decent ground on the third breaststroke leg to give herself a chance in the final 50 metres.
She just couldn't make up the ground, however, despite producing a PB performance of 2:38.64. New Zealand's Sophie Pascoe won gold in 2:32.73 ahead of Hungarian Zsofia Konkoly and Spaniard Nuria Marques Soto.
Keane won Ireland's first medal of the Games, claiming gold in the SB8 100m breaststroke six days ago.
Ellen Keane finished 5th in the final SM9 200 medley #Paralympics #Tokyo2020 #RTESport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 1, 2021
Report: https://t.co/wpUoVx9boQ
Watch live: https://t.co/ZfldwHUA2l pic.twitter.com/AHFomumXCf
"I hadn't really reflected that much on it, after my breaststroke it was just a whirlwind," said the Dubliner.
"I knew I wanted to swim well in my IM so I was just trying to get focused and not get too caught up in it but even now I can feel the emotions creeping in.
"It's been a great games. I really want to say a big thank you to everyone at home who has cheered me on and cheered the whole team on and I just want to give a special mention to my team mate Patrick (Flanagan) who hasn’t started his games yet. He is in the pool tomorrow and I hope everyone will cheer him on for his 400 tomorrow and 100 backstroke the next day."
