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26th Aug 2021

Ellen Keane wins gold in 100m breaststroke at Paralympics

Jade Hayden

An amazing swim today.

Ellen Keane has won gold at today’s 100m breaststroke.

The Dublin born Paralympian swimmer emerged victorious at today’s event, with an incredible time of 1.19.93.

The champion took two seconds off her quickest time ever in the event, which saw her race for gold alongside New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe.

Ellen qualified for the Tokyo final today, when she swam what was previously her fastest race ever.

“I don’t think it’s fully sank in yet, I had a game plan in mind and I stuck to that,” she told RTÉ Sport today. “I took a break from social media, if I went online I could feel the nerves creeping in, this is the first games I’ve not been nervous, I’ve been so calm.”

She went on: “I kind of knew I was capable of doing something great, so it was about trusting myself. I’ve had that time to work on myself, the past 18 months I’ve learned to trust myself.”

After this morning’s heat, Ellen said: “The heat was fun. I just wanted to get in and swim fast and that’s what I did. Tonight, though, the girls that I swim against are world class so anything can happen tonight in the final.”

16 year-old Limerick swimmer Róisín Ní Riain also competed in today’s backstroke event. She finished sixth with a new personal best.

After this morning’s heat, the rising star said: “I’m happy with it, I think it’s the fastest I’ve ever been. It’s a PB, and that’s always good and hopefully I can improve on that this evening.”

Images via Sportsfile 

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