DANIELLE HILL HAS won a gold medal at the European Aquatics Championships in Serbia.
The Irish swimmer produced a sensational swim to win today’s 50m backstroke final, securing Ireland’s first European long course gold medal in 27 years.
Hill finished in first place with a time of 27.73, 0.15 seconds ahead of Greece’s Theodora Drakou, with Poland’s Lora Piskorska taking bronze.
The 24-year is set to compete in the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke at the Paris Olympics, having also represented Ireland at the Tokyo Games.
Elsewhere, Conor Ferguson booked his place in Friday’s 50m backstroke final with a fourth-place finish in his semi-final, with a time of 25.01.
In the men’s 200m breaststroke final Eoin Corby finished seventh, at 2:12.71.
In the women’s 200m breastroke semi-finals, Ellie McCartney clocked a PB of 2:26.76 to finish in fifth place overall and qualify for tomorrow’s final. It will be the first senior international final for McCartney.
Niamh Coyne was 12th with a time of 2:30.47.
