Women in Sport: Roisin Ni Riain, Para-Olympic Swimmer

Roisin Ni Riain has most recently won a silver medal at the Para Swimming World Championships and competes in all four disciplines - breaststroke, butterfly, front crawl and backstroke. 

How did you get into your chosen sport ?

I began swimming at the age of four simply just to be able to swim and for basic water safety, and it really just developed from there. I advanced up through all the levels of swim lessons and began in Limerick swimming club at the age of nine. Even from a young age I loved competing, and I’ve always had a competitive side to me. I later moved into the National Centre of Limerick in UL, which is where I currently train. I began in para sport shortly after this at the age of 15.

Who was your sporting hero growing up and your sporting hero now?

As a young child with a disability I used to feel quite different to those around me. So for me I really enjoyed seeing and meeting people who were also visually impaired, and I used to admire them and look up to them as a child. Somebody who I looked up to when I first watched the Paralympics in Rio was Nicole Turner, she was only a young teenager when she competed at her first games, and she is now one of my good friends and teammates.

Normal day before a race?

Every race day looks pretty similar for me, It starts in the morning by having a good breakfast. I will then go straight to the pool to begin my warm ups. I start by stretching on land to prepare myself before getting in the water and then I warm up in the pool for 35 minutes. I will then put on my racing suit and get ready to race. After the race it’s all about recovery, so I’d usually do an ice bath and then swim down. Then it’s all about getting back to rest so that I am ready to go again later that evening or the following day.

What is the most memorable moment in your career so far?

I would have to say the most memorable moment in my career so far is my recent gold medal at this year's World Championships in Manchester. After a long year balancing my Leaving Cert and training I was absolutely delighted to come home from worlds with a gold and silver meal and a slot for Team Ireland for Paris 2024.
I won a gold medal in the S13 100m backstroke, it was a very close race so I was shocked when I heard that I had won. It was an amazing feeling and an honour to be able to stand on top of that podium and hear the national anthem!

What would you change in your sport today to help women ?

There are so many things we could do to encourage a bigger participation of women in sport, and especially in swimming. As I see it, if we could provide greater coverage of a wider range of sports of which there are many, then we could see our successful females in action and maybe encourage and foster an interest amongst young girls and women.
So I believe two of the bigger priorities have to be increased funding and increased recognition or exposure. By this I mean more media stories and reporting of women’s achievements on a regular basis.

What is the best advice you would give to someone?

The best piece of advice I could give to people, and especially people involved in sport is to never give up.
I can say from experience that there’s always going to be different things that get in the way, but it’s how you find a way to navigate around these obstacles that’s important. In sport especially there will always be a number of setbacks, injuries or illnesses that may stand in your way but it’s all about how you bounce back!