JOB DONE, AND more in the tank. Watch this space.
Ellen Keane finished joint first in her heat as she successfully opened her Women’s SB8 100m Breaststroke title defence at Paris La Défense Arena.
Keane, competing at her fifth and final Paralympic Games, clocked 1:24.59 — the same time as Great Britain rival Brock Whiston in the lane beside her.
The pair qualified for this evening’s final [7.21pm Irish time] in joint second overall: Spain’s 16-year-old world champion Anastasiya Dmytriv stormed to victory in the earlier heat in 1:22.91.
Keane now joins Róisín Ní Riain in targetting the podium under Friday Night Lights.
“I’m just delighted,” she told The 42 afterwards. “It was so exciting to get out there.
“I’m really happy with the swim. It is 1:24. It’s not as fast as I can go. I know I can go faster tonight. Had a little bit of fun with it. Was really in the moment. So really excited for tonight.”
The 29-year-old Dubliner, whose personal best is 1:19.93 from her gold medal win in Tokyo, was able to hold back somewhat. But a huge challenge awaits.
Whiston’s entry time (1:16.82) was the fastest by a long shot. She holds the world record of 1:13.83 from 2019. She was recently reclassified from SB9 to SB8, having missed the Tokyo Games. Dmytriv is in good form. But Keane will focus on herself and enjoy her swansong.
She was at La Défense yesterday morning to support team-mates Ní Riain, Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady — and sample the environment — but watched the finals from the athlete’s village.
This morning, she took her moment.
“Even seeing the girls race yesterday, I’m sharing [rooms] with Nicole Turner, seeing her get excited… I was delighted I wasn’t racing yesterday, but it really put me in the mood today.
“When I walk out for races, I have my headphones on, but just before I walked out, I pulled them back so I could hear the crowd and I could see the crowd. All of my friends and family, there is like 30 of them, they are all gathered together.”
And you gave them a wave?
“That’s when you know you are in the faster end of the pack. You can kind of do those things, and I take it for granted a little bit. This is the last time I do it, so I may as well do it now if I am going to do it at all.”
The end is nigh. From debuting at 13 at Beijing 2008 to the last hurrah in Paris, Keane is a five-time Paralympian, no matter what happens next.
“I thought I was done after 2012!” the Clontarf native, who is also entered in the S9 100m Backstroke on Tuesday, said.
“It has been an incredible career, I’m not done yet… It makes me feel like an absolute granny but I’m only 29. I’m so delighted with my career and I’m ready to move on — but I’m very much in the moment and excited for that last swim.”
The immediate plan?
A quick recovery: lactate checks, ice bath, carb load, nap, physio, more food…
“And come back ready.”
