Fifth and Sixth Respectively For McGivern & Scully On Penultimate Day Of Paralympic Swimming European Championships In Eindhoven

On the penultimate day of competition at the Paralympic Swimming European Championships in Eindhoven, Ireland's Laurence McGivern has finished fifth, and James Scully sixth in their respective finals.

Twenty one year old McGivern was first up in the 100m Backstroke S9 Final; having qualified as heat winner this morning.The Invictus Swimming Clubman didn't get a good start and was in second place after the first 50 metres in 31.32 seconds but faded further in the second 50m to finish in 1:08.53, well off his personal best of 1:04.75, and 5th overall.

A disappointed McGivern spoke afterwards; "I'm devastated, I thought I was doing really well, I didn't change anything from this morning's swim, and it just didn't work out how I wanted."
Great Britain's James Crisp was the Gold medallist in the event with a winning time of 1:04.30 while Hungary's Tamas Toth claimed Silver in 1:05.44.

In this evening's second final for the Irish swim team, James Scully was also off his best in the S5 50m Freestyle. Scully was unable to better his morning heat time of 38.43 in the final touching in 39.02 seconds to claim sixth place overall. However, it's been a fantastic week for the National Aquatic Centre clubman who has already picked up two bronze medals in the 100m and 200m Freestyle S5 events.

Sebastian Rodriguez of Spain won the 50m Freestyle S5 in 34.09 while Great Britain's Andrew Mullen added Silver to his three Gold medals already won at the championships finishing second in 36.12 seconds.

On the final day of competition tomorrow Scully returns for his last event; the 50m Backstroke S5 heats in the morning. Ellen Keane competes in the 100m Butterfly Final, Keane won Bronze in the event at the 2013 World Championships and is ranked third in tomorrow's final, while debutant Ailbhe Kelly makes her final appearance in the 50m Freestyle S8 Final.