Ireland doubled their medal tally at the World Para Swimming European Championships in Turkey on Thursday afternoon when Róisín Ní Riain took gold by successfully defending her 100m backstroke title, while Dearbhaile Brady took silver in the 50m butterfly final.
Earlier in the week, Ní Riain and Brady won silver in the 100m freestyle and 200m individual medley, respectively, but this time around Ní Riain produced a dominant display, the Limerick woman finishing with close to three seconds to spare over Italian runner-up Carlotta Gilli in a personal best time. Britain’s Ursula Carroll took bronze.
Considering she’s endured her fair share of injury woes the past year, Ní Riain’s form in Turkey has been remarkable. “My goal was simply to make it to this competition,” she said. “A few weeks and months ago, I didn’t think I would be here, so for me the goal was to get here – and anything that came after that was a bonus.”
She has now added a gold and silver to an already bulky collection, which includes two medals from the 2024 Paralympics.
Brady, meanwhile, came within .33 of a second of gold in her final, Italy’s Giulia Terzi just about holding her off.
Síomha Nic Brádaigh finished sixth in the 100m backstroke final, while Dylan Prenderville found the going too tough in the 50m butterfly, finishing eighth and last.