Ellen Keane believes she has an even stronger performance to come after advancing to Friday evening’s Paralympic final of the SB8 100m breaststroke as the joint second-fastest qualifier.
The defending Paralympic champion was joint winner of heat two at La Défense Arena in Paris on Friday morning with 1:24.59, coming home with the same time as Britain’s Brock Whiston.
The fastest qualifier was Spain’s Anastasiya Dmytriv, with the 16-year-old reigning world champion dominating heat one in a time of 1:22.91.
The final is scheduled for 7.21pm Irish time.
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Keane, who is competing in her last Paralympics, feels she was able to hold energy in reserve for that showdown.
“I am really happy with it, it’s 1:24,” said Keane. “It is not as fast as I can go, I know I can go faster tonight. I had a little bit of fun with it. Was really in the moment. So I’m really excited for tonight.
“I’m going to get my lactate checked now, how high it is and hopefully it won’t be that high, so my recovery will be nice and quick for tonight’s final.
“I am just delighted, it was so exciting to get out there. Even seeing the girls race yesterday, I am sharing [a room] with Nicole Turner, seeing her get excited.
“It really put me in the mood today. When I walk out for races, I have my headphones on, but just before I walked out, I pulled them back so I could hear the crowd and I could see the crowd. All of my friends and family, there is like 30 of them, they are all gathered together.”
Whiston and Dmytriv are Keane’s biggest threats. Whiston’s entry time for the Paralympics was 1:16.82 while the British swimmer holds the world record time in the class with a time of 1:13.83.
Keane’s personal best was a 1:19.93 on her way to gold in Tokyo three years ago.
Whiston’s reclassification in the 100m breaststroke grade has been a talking point in Para swimming, and Keane will probably need the performance of her career to finish ahead of her British opponent.
Still, the Clontarf native was in a positive frame of mind after her display in the heat, cheerfully waving to friends and family in the crowd before leaving the arena.
“It’s been an incredible career, I’m not done yet,” she smiled when asked about becoming a five-time Paralympian.
“It makes me feel like an absolute granny but I’m only 29, but I’m so delighted with my career and I’m ready to move on but I’m very much in the moment and excited for that last swim.
“I’m going to get in a very cold ice bath now and get as many carbs into me as possible, have a nap, maybe see the physio for a rub if I need it and then get more food into me and come back tonight ready.”
