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Team Ireland headed to the La Défense Arena for the final time today with Barry McClements taking to the blocks for the 100m Butterfly S9 Heat. McClements, who is competing in his second Paralympic Games, advanced to tonight’s final in a time of 1:01.85, finishing third in his heat and sixth overall.
The National Centre (Ulster) swimmer was in fourth position as he headed for home following the first 50-metres. McClements was eventually the third swimmer to stop the clock, qualifying for tonight’s final as sixth fastest in 1:01.85. The time is just shy of the 22-year-old’s lifetime best of 1:01.39, and his second fastest ever heat swim.
Speaking after this morning’s heat, McClements said, “That felt good. There were no technical issues, the start and turn were both good. I maybe got caught out in the first couple of strokes and tied up in the last 15m, but that will be corrected tonight so I’m happy enough.
“My front-end speed isn’t as fast as the other guys, I always bring it back. At the Europeans I turned fifth at the wall and finished third, so my back-end speed I’m able to bring it back a bit more than the other guys. That’s my second fastest morning swim ever, so hopefully a PB tonight.”
McClements secured his second final and Team Ireland’s 11th final at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which is set to get underway at 5:35pm (IRE).
Barry McClements brought the curtain down on a memorable two weeks for Irish Para swimming in the La Défense Arena, as Team Ireland appeared in the pool for the last time at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Under head coach Kevin Anderson at National Centre Ulster, McClements entered tonight’s 100m Butterfly S9 Final as the sixth fastest qualifier (1:01.85), improving on his Tokyo 2020 performance, where he did not progress beyond the heats.
Swimming in lane seven, McClements stayed with the pack throughout the two lengths of the Paris pool, stopping the clock at 1:01.24 to finish fifth. This time marked a new lifetime best, surpassing his previous best of 1:01.39, set at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships.
Speaking directly after the final, McClements said, “I got a PB, so I can’t not be happy, I’m definitely capable of going the time that got bronze (1:01.08), so it’s a bit bittersweet but I can’t be angry going a PB. The race was perfectly executed in my opinion, to get a medal was always going to be me having a good race and a lot of people having a bad race, everyone out there had a good race.
“If I look back three years ago, I didn’t even have a place to train, I had to train away from home for year, that didn’t quite work out. I’ve moved back home, and I’ve only been with my new coach (Kevin Anderson) a year and a half, I owe lot of credit to him and to my team back home. Kevin (Anderson), Ryan (Keating), Sinead (Chambers) and Dave (Thompson), they really helped make the dream come through. I’ve got another four years until LA; I’m looking forward to it.”
Speaking on his experience in Tokyo, McClements added, “I’m actually so happy, in Tokyo I kind of forgot to enjoy the races, here I really enjoyed them, so I’m really happy. I’ve been away for a month now, it was great to seeing my family up there, I can’t wait to see them, I’ve really enjoyed the experience. In Tokyo, I only made one final, now I’ve made two finals and in fifth I was really close to a medal. I’m really excited to see what the next four years holds.”
Following the conclusion of the meet for Team Ireland, Head Coach Hayley Burke said, “Heading into Paris 2024 we targeted 11 finals, to come away with equalling the target set out is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved, along with the silver and bronze medals delivered from the world class Róisín Ní Riain – credit to her coaches and support team in National Centre (Limerick), including John Szaranek, who has been a great support to the Para swim team here in Paris.
“A special mention to Ellen Keane who has been an amazing athlete and teammate spanning over five Paralympic Games. Ellen has also been an incredible role model and ambassador for Irish Para swimming and the Paralympic movement. She has delivered European and World Championship medals, along two Paralympic Games medals, bronze in Rio and gold in Tokyo, a night many Irish supporters will never forget – thank you, Ellen!
“Congratulations to Róisín, Ellen, Nicole, Barry, Dearbhaile and Deaten who have all represented this nation proudly and have given their all for the Team Ireland in Paris.
“We hope the past few weeks will inspire the future of Irish Para swimming.”
After two weeks of excitement and emotion, tonight’s final brings Team Ireland’s action in the pool to an end, coming away with a silver and bronze medal, both delivered by Róisín Ní Riain.
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