The day’s not done yet. We still have swimmer Róisín Ní Riain to come in the SM13 200m Individual Medley final and sprinter Orla Comerford in the T13 100m final. They are scheduled for 7.04 and 7.13, but because the swimming is running late, we’re now living in dread of them clashing. Come on ye Gods, help us out here.
Nicole Turner: That interview on RTE was a tough watch, she’s heartbroken after that final. She was never going to win gold, considering the opposition, but she would have had hopes of a bronze or even a silver. “The podium would have been nice today, but I just think it wasn’t meant to be.”
So near....... look how close Dearbhaile Brady was to a bronze. A brilliant swim from the 17-year-old in her first Paralympic final, a personal best too. She did Derry Girls proud. She might get a clip ‘round the ear, though - she’s just told RTE that her Da turned a rusty old fifty today.
No Joy: It’s gold for China’s Yuyan Jiang in the S6 50m Butterfly final, silver to her compatriot Daomin Liu, and bronze to Brazil’s Mayara Do Amaral Ptezold. Dearbhaile Brady, in her first Paralympic final, finished an excellent fifth, but Nicole Turner faded to sixth after a bright start when was challenging the leaders.
Swimming: You’ll note that things are running a bit late at the pool, but hang in there, Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady will be up soon. The Paris La Defense Arena is jammed with tricolours - alas, they’re mainly red, white and blue.
S6 50m Butterfly final (5.05): Next up for Ireland, Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady. Four of the five swimmers who finished ahead of Turner in last week’s S6 50m Freestyle final are back again (hopefully not to haunt her) - Yuyan Jiang of China, Ellie Marks of the United States, Anna Hontar of Ukraine and Mayara Do Amaral Ptezold of Brazil.
S9 100m Backstroke final: An eighth place finish for Barry McClements, the pace in that final just too hot for the Newtownards man. Yohur Shchalkanau (Neutral Paralympic Athletes) won gold with a new Paralympic record, France’s Ugo Didier taking silver and Bogdan Mozgovoi (NPA) bronze. McClements’ favoured event, the 100m Butterfly, is still to come on Friday, so he’s far from done.
S9 100m Backstroke final (4.37): Here’s the line-up for Barry McClements’ final. It’s pretty remarkable that he made it to Paris at all because it was this month last year that he fractured the femur in the leg that had to be amputated above the knee when he was 10 months old due to a birth defect called fibular hemimelia. But he not only recovered, he went on to win 100m Butterfly bronze at April’s European Championships. Based on the times in this morning’s heats, though, a podium placing looks a stretch here. But….. we’ll see.
Catch-up: Ellen Keane bowed out of international competition this morning with a sixth-place finish in the S9 100m backstroke heats, bringing an end to a swimming career that saw her compete in five Paralympics, winning gold in the 100m breaststroke in Tokyo.
Gordon Manning spoke with an emotional Keane after her race, the Dubliner saying her final swim was for “little Ellen” who competed in the Paralympics for the first time at the age of just 13.
At Château de Versailles, meanwhile, there was agony for Kate Kerr-Horan and Jessica McKenna who just failed to advance in their Grade III Individual equestrian event - the top eight went though, Kerr-Horan finished ninth and Jessica McKenna tenth.
And later in the afternoon, Michael Murphy’s luck was out too - with just two riders to go out of the 22, he was in eighth position - enough to qualify for the Freestyle event. But he was overtaken at the death by Laurentia Tan of Singapore and finished ninth overall. A heartbreaker.
Good afternoon everyone. And with a bit of good fortune, it’ll be a very good afternoon/evening because five of the Irish team are in finals, four in swimming and one in athletics, following a very productive morning of heats. Here’s your line-up:
4.37: Barry McClements - S9 100m Backstroke final. The 22-year-old from Newtownards, competing in his second Paralympics, finished fourth in his heat this morning in a time of 1:05.35. That left him eighth overall, just enough to qualify for the final.
5.05: Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady - S6 50m Butterfly final. The pair go in to the final as the fifth and sixth fastest swimmers from the heats, respectively, this the event in which Turner won silver in Tokyo. For 17-year-old Brady, it will be her first ever Paralympic final.
7.04: Róisín Ní Riain - SM13 200m Individual Medley final. The silver medalist from the S13 100m Backstroke looked in fine form in the Individual Medley heats, finishing second in her race and third fastest overall…. and it looked like she’d quite a bit left in the tank.
7.13: Orla Comerford - T13 100m final. The Raheny Shamrocks sprinter had the perfect start to her third Paralympics, winning her heat in a time of 12.02 seconds, the third fastest of this evening’s finalists.
