Fifth & Sixth Place Finishes For Irish Swimmers Today At Paralympic Swimming European Championships In Eindhoven

Ireland's Ailbhe Kelly swam another lifetime best in the final of the S8 400m Freestyle Final to finish fifth overall on the second day of competition at the Paralympic Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven this morning.

Following two personal best swims and a fifth place finish in the 100m Backstroke Final yesterday, fifteen year old Kelly from Castleknock in Dublin continued her good form in the 400m Freestyle to claim another fifth place in 5 minutes 54.33 seconds.

Speaking after the race Kelly remarked; "I'm delighted to get another PB. My main aim was to come here and get experience and learn what it's like to compete at senior international level, so to swim three best times has been great. I'm looking forward to the rest of my races this week".

Jonathan McGrath was also in action today in the S8 400m Freestyle Final. McGrath, from Limerick, was off his best time of 4:52.69 from 2010 touching in 5:00.61 and was sixth overall. Great Britain's Ollie Hynd won the Gold in 4:31.66 with Russia's Denis Tarasov second in 4:33.67.

Competition continues tomorrow for the Irish (Wednesday 6th) with Ellen Keane competing in the SB9 100m Breaststroke and S9 100m Freestyle Finals; the breaststroke her preferred event.
Almost 400 swimmers from 37 countries are competing at these Championships. All heats and finals will be streamed live on www.paralympicsport.tv