Third not good enough for Shane Ryan

Shane Ryan finished third in his 50m freestyle heat at the Rio Aquatic Centre last night, ending Ireland’s interest in the swimming pool at the Olympic Games.

Ryan’s time 22.88 seconds - just one tenth of a second off his best of 22.79 - was well off the pace set by the fastest qualifier Andrii Govorov of the Ukraine who came home in 21.49.

Ryan, a 22-year-old Penn State student, was the star of the Irish team in Brazil. He contested the 100m Backstroke semi-final last Saturday, after setting an Irish record 53.85, breaking his own record of 54.21 from the European Championships in May.