Paralympics: Nicole Turner and Roísín Ní Riain start as they mean to go on in Paris

Dearbhaile Brady earned a personal best time but failed to progress in the S6 50m freestyle. 

TEENAGE KICKS: Róisín Ni Riain of Ireland during the women's 100m butterfly S13 heats on day one of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at La Défense Arena. Photo by Sportsfile

A splashing fine start for the Irish in Paris. Three swimmers, two finalists, and a lifetime best for a 17-year-old Games debutant. The bar set high on the first morning of action. Up to everyone else coming after in green to keep it raised.

Nicole Turner and Dearbhaile Brady were first onto the pool deck and the Paralympic stage for Ireland. The pair shared the same S6 50m freestyle heat. Turner, for her part, went right to form. She came into the event ranked fifth. Coming back out of the water, she had finished third in the second of two heats to progress fifth fastest to this evening’s final.

The 21-year-old’s clocking of 35.35 was a season’s best time. But with the three fastest qualifiers all touching the wall sub-34 seconds, Turner will need to go where she has never before gone in the final at 6.19pm Irish time to get onto the podium.

For Dearbhaile Brady, there was a lifetime best swim, even if that wasn’t rewarded with a final ticket. Her 36.45 left the Derry teenager fifth in her heat, 10th overall, and exactly half a second shy of a final lane. She will return to the pool on Tuesday morning for the heats of the 50m butterfly.

Less than half an hour later, another Irish teenager began her Paralympic campaign. Roísín Ní Riain was fourth in her heat of the S13 100m butterfly, advancing fifth overall to this evening’s medal race in a time of 1:06.40.

In an event where Ní Riain silver medaled at last year’s World Championships, this morning’s top-three qualifying times of 1:03.95 (America’s Grace Nuhfer), 1:04.19 (Carlotta Gilli of Italy), and 1:05.14 (Uzbekistan’s Muslima Odilova), Ní Riain will require a significant lowering of her 1:06-dead PB to put herself back on the podium.

The relief for Ní Riain was two-pronged. The wait to begin her second Games over and the heats safely navigated.

“I’ve been raring to go,” she said post-swim.

“It was a bit of fun getting out there this morning. Definitely a long time coming, but just feet off the ground and take that in as much as possible and turn the nerves into excitement.

“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.” 

Her final takes to the blocks at 7.15pm.