Ellen Keane rounded off a decorated Paralympic career with a sixth-place finish in her 100m backstroke heat at La Defense Arena.
The Tokyo gold medallist was back in action this morning after finishing fourth in last week's butterfly final.
The 29-year-old was always up against in this event, with the top eight fastest across both heats advancing to tonight’s S9 final.
Ellen Keane has swam her last ever race. The Irish great has finished sixth in her S9 100m backstroke heat in a time of 1:17.63
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 3, 2024
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Swimming in lane one, she finished posted a time of 1:17.63 to finish 12th overall.The two-time world champion joked with her coach beforehand that there was a chance she could finish last, but put in a solid swim with no pressure or expectations of reaching a final.
"I'm really proud of that swim it was really fun, it hurt a lot but today has been really special," she told RTÉ Sport.
"To have that as a 'care-free’ event is the most amazing thing. Last night I said to Nicole (Turner) before I got to bed ‘why cant I just keep swimming and do events that don't matter getting in like you are a kid?"
Having made her Paralympic debut aged 13 - her first anti-doping test came when she was just 10 - the Clontarf woman was determined to savour every last moment as an elite swimmer.
"Everything this morning went really slow and that’s good because it just felt I was in the moment and really taking everything in," she added.
"Even coming in and doing my warm-up, putting on my racing suit, there have been moments where I just stopped and reflected on it. I just keep crying."
Róisín Ní Riaín maintained her push for further silverware by progressing to the final (7.04pm Irish time) of her 200m individual medley final.
It marks the Limerick teenager's third final of the Games, with the Limerick woman putting Team Ireland on the medal table last Friday with silver in the backstroke.
She finished second in her heat behind Italian Carlotta Gilli with a time of 2:30.75. She enters the final as the third fastest qualifier, with American Olivia Chambers leading the way.
"The aim of this morning was just to get out and put down a good swim, make it back to tonight," Ní Riaín said. "I'm happy I did that.
"I’ll go back and have a look now and see where I can improve and pick up a couple of seconds for later. I definitely glided two of my turns, so that is something to work on tonight."
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Barry McClements is through to his 100m breaststroke final (4.37pm).
Competing in his second Games, the 22-year-old posted a time of 1:05.36 to finish fourth in his heat and take the last of the eight spots for tonight’s S9 final, just over four seconds slower than fastest qualifier Yahor Shchalkanau.
Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady both progressed from their heat in the women's S9 50m butterfly.
After the disappointment of her sixth-place finish in last week’s freestyle final, Tokyo silver medallist Turner put in a determined display to finish third in 38.10, one place ahead of compatriot Brady, who posted a time of 38.73.
They will take their place in today's final at 5.05pm as the fifth- and sixth-fastest qualifiers respectively.
"This morning was about staying loose, getting rid of the nerves, having fun and coming back later and do my thing," Turner said.
"All my friends came over last night. Those were the moments you missed from Tokyo."
Limavady teenager Brady said the objective was to push as hard as she could and see where it took her.
"I felt very good, better than my 50m freestyle," she said. "The nerves were kind of there in the call room, but not as bad. The race went according to plan. It was fast, but I gave it everything as I wasn’t sure about a final."
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