Ní Riain announces ascension as Keane misses medal at Paralympics

Ireland’s Roisin Ni Riain with her silver medal. Picture: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

Tempered teenage rapture. Retirement tears. An expected silver medal. An unexpected and unwelcome fourth. The new standard-bearer of Irish Paralympic swimming announced herself from the second podium step. The woman who for so long set that standard did not get the send-off she wanted.

As the second evening of pool action at La Défense Arena reached its last few races, the pockets of green splashed around this stunningly impressive repurposed venue sat ready for medals. Heat and entry times pointed to podium finishes. It was simply a case of how many and what colour.

Roísín Ní Riain was first onto the pool deck. The S13 100m backstroke is her signature event. It’s an event she became world champion in 12 months ago. Tokyo gold medalist Gia Pergolini was not present in Manchester for that race. Pergolini was very much present in Paris.

The USA’s Pergolini was almost two seconds up on Ní Riain at halfway. Gold was gone. It was now about holding onto second so as to get handed silver.

Italian Carlotta Gilli, who took gold in the S13 100m butterfly that Ní Riain was fourth in on the opening night, was the main challenger to those silver aspirations. The Limerick teenager was not for passing. Form was held under pressure, so too was second spot.

1:07.27 for Ní Riain.1:08.08 for Gilli behind her, 1:04.93 for Pergolini in front of her.

Ireland were on the medal table in Paris.

Ní Riain was incredibly measured after her fourth-place finish on Thursday. That same controlled tone, while now accompanied by a smile, was again delivered here.

“It’s a nice feeling to be able to win a medal. There are always goals and expectations I have for myself,” said the visually impaired swimmer.

“To be honest, last night I was lying in bed and I was just really excited to get out tonight. I think that’s a really nice way to be. I wasn’t too nervous. I don’t get overly nervous.

“I get more excited and I’m genuinely very excited every time I get out to race, especially when the backstroke is probably my favourite event. I always love a race like that.

“To have all of my friends and family be able to watch makes it even more exciting. Hearing them when I came out makes all the difference.” 

The race that came once the cheering stopped was a 68-second blur. And not that it would have lifted her any higher on the podium but her 68-second clocking, plus change, was down on her 1:06.62 PB from last year’s worlds.

“I don’t remember much of it, other than trying to talk myself through the first 50 and after that it’s really just go for it. That tends to be how I swim my backstroke races. I probably take it out too slowly my coach would say, then I come back strong.

“When I came off the wall I tried to get my stroke-rate up and finish as hard as I could. I’ll definitely have to go back and have a look, but it felt like a good race.” 

Agony followed earlier ecstasy. No second Irish medal materialised. Ellen Keane’s attempts to follow Ní Riain onto the podium fell short by two tenths of a second.

A gutting fourth. The goodbye fourth the 29-year-old did not want. Bronze in this event in Rio and gold in Tokyo, the target was to retire with a third Paralympic podium. High performance sport, in this instance, refused to cooperate.

The five-time Paralympian was third for around 80 or so metres of the S8 100m breaststroke final. But throughout the second half of the race, it was clear a threat lurked over in Lane One.

Russia’s Viktoriia Ishchiulova, a neutral athlete at these Games, was fourth in her heat yesterday morning and only advanced seventh to the final. She wasn’t meant to contend. Her 1:26.96 heat time was almost two and a half seconds slower than Keane’s. And yet here she was, threatening to ruin Keane’s retirement medal dance.

Too close to call in real time, the electronic board confirmed Ishchiulova had gone and ruined Keane's last medal shot. She touched in 1:24.50, ahead of the Irish woman’s 1:24.69. The latter's time was a tenth of a second slower than her heat swim.

Gold went to Spain’s 16-year-old Anastasiya Dmytriv in 1:19.75, Britain’s Brock Whiston claiming silver in 1:21.04.

Keane kept her game face on for as much of the post-race chat as she could manage. She smiled and said she could have given no more.

“If I got out of the water and I still had energy and still was able to walk, I would be annoyed at myself, but there is nothing more I could have done there. I gave it my all. I obviously would have loved to have made the podium on my last Games, but it just wasn't to be.” The smile could not be sustained. The tears arrived.

“I have had a great career. I love the Paralympic Games and everything that it is,” she said, her voice breaking, “so I just want to enjoy being here, and the fact that my family and friends are here is really special.

“I am probably going to go cry now.” After silver smiles, a reminder that sport can also be incredibly cruel.