NICOLE TURNER AND Róisín Ní Ríain have qualified for their respective swimming finals on a solid opening morning of Paralympic action for Ireland at La Defense Arena in Paris.
Turner, the reigning European champion in her event, came third in her Women’s S6 50m freestyle heat and was the fifth-fastest qualifier overall with a time of 35:35.
The 22-year-old Laois woman finished behind the USA’s Ellie Marks and Ukraine’s Anna Hontar in her heat and will compete in the final at 6:19pm. China’s Yuyang Jiang was the fastest S6 freestyle qualifier overall with a time of 32:70.
Derry’s Dearbhaile Brady, who shared a podium with Turner at the Europeans back in April, missed out on a place in the decider despite swimming a personal best 36:45.
Brady, 17, was making her Paralympic debut and competed in the same heat as her hero, Turner.
Nicole Turner has qualified for the women's 50m freestyle - S6 final after third place finish in her heat. Dearbhaile Brady in fifth did not progress#rtesport #paris2024
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 29, 2024
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Róisín Ní Ríain reached the final of the S13 100m butterfly, finishing fourth in a talent-stacked heat — and fifth overall in qualifying — with a time of 1:06.40.
The 19-year-old from Limerick was second after 50m and held on for fourth to seal her place in the final, which will take place at 7:15pm.
Great swim from Róisín Ní Riain in S13 100m butterfly heats as she qualifies for final as the fifth fastest, coming fourth in her heat#paris2024 #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 29, 2024
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“It was a good swim to get started with and nice to kick off, I’ve been raring to go,” said Ní Ríain. “It was a bit of fun getting out there this morning, happy, and back tonight so that’s a good start.
“I guess I’ll have to go back and have a look with my coach, sit down and see how it went, but happy with it for my first swim.
“The goal this morning was always just to make it back tonight. We’ll get a bit of rest and recovery now and see how it goes tonight.”
- With reporting from Emma Duffy in Paris.
