Ellen Keane will compete in her fourth Paralympic Games, one of a five-strong Team Ireland swimming contingent that will compete in Tokyo. The Dubliner, a World Championship bronze medallist, first represented her country at the Paralympics in Beijing back in 2008.
She is joined by Nicole Turner, the 19-year-old from Laois, a bronze medal winner at the World Championships, and who at 14 carried the Irish flag in the Rio Paralympics five years ago.
There are three first-time Paralympians, Patrick Flanagan, Barry McClements and 16-year-old Limerick transition year student Róisín Ní Ríain, the youngest member of Team Ireland. Flanagan, who grew up in Longford but lives in Sligo, narrowly missed out on a European Championship medal at Dublin 2018 and again in Portugal in May.
McClements has been consistently excellent since joining the national swimming squad post Rio while Ní Ríain announced herself on the world stage when she claimed a bronze medal at the recent Europeans on her first appearance at a major championship.
The Para Swim team will now leave for a training camp in Fuerteventura on August 1st before travelling on to Narita City and then transferring into the athlete’s village in Tokyo.
Team Ireland Swimming for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
Barry McClements (Newtown Ards) Class S9
Nicole Turner (NAC Dublin) S6
Róisín Ní Ríain (National Centre Limerick) S13
Patrick Flanagan (NAC Dublin) S6
Ellen Keane (NAC Dublin) S9
