Fiona Doyle’s Olympic campaign drew to a close after she failed to progress to the semi-finals of the 200m breaststroke at Rio 2016, despite finishing second in her heat.
Doyle was bitterly disappointed by her performance in her favoured 100m breaststroke at the weekend, where she finished 20th overall, and expectations for the longer event were always more modest.
The 24-year-old made an explosive start from the blocks and led with 50m to race, but her stroke shortened in the closing stages as her stamina ebbed away and a time of two minutes 29.76 seconds was never going to be fast enough to secure a semi-final berth.
Doyle eventually finished 25th overall, more than seven seconds behind Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen, who was the fastest of the 16 swimmers to advance to the semi-finals.
Fiona Doyle was disappointed after she bowed out of Rio 2016 at the heat stage of the 200m breaststroke. #rtesporthttps://t.co/Rx62iXGQ7c
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 10, 2016
“I’m not sure why it wasn’t a best time, I mean I’m fitter, stronger and leaner than I’ve ever been before.
“I’ve been doing times in the warm-up that I’ve never done before, so I don’t really know.”
For the Calgary-based swimmer, the future is uncertain.
“It’s a very big question,” she admitted.
“My coach is trying to get me to stay on and do the World Short Course Championships in December.
“I’ve never been this fit, I’ve never been this strong, I haven’t swam this fast - ever.”
Andrew Bree wants Fiona Doyle to continue #rterio2016 https://t.co/xgAIaNkQ4n
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 10, 2016
