Limerick swimmer claims silver medal at major championships
Ní Riain took to the European stage this evening to compete in the 100m Freestyle (S13), an event that is not included in her classification at the Paralympic Games
LIMERICK swimmer Róisín Ní Riain won a major medal on Wednesday night with a stunning silver medal the 2026 World Para Swimming European Championships Kocaeli.
On a wonderful night for Team Ireland Dearbhaile Brady who swims out of the National Centre Dublin secured Ireland’s first medals of the 2026 World Para Swimming European Championships, with both swimmers claiming silver.
Ní Riain took to the European stage this evening to compete in the 100m Freestyle (S13), an event that is not included in her classification at the Paralympic Games. The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer headed into tonight’s final as the fourth-fastest qualifier after a solid morning swim of 1:01.85, just outside her personal best of 1:01.58.
After the opening 50 metres, Ní Riain sat in fourth position at the turn and it was from there, the 22-year-old increased her stroke rate and stormed home to touch the wall in a new lifetime best of 1:00.52, securing the European silver medal.
Ní Riain finished just 0.31 seconds behind Italy’s Carlotta Gilli, who claimed gold in 1:00.21.
"I’m really, really happy with that swim,” Ní Riain said. “I knew I was capable of a swim like that, and I also knew I was capable of a time like that for a while now.
“This is my first time racing the 100m Freestyle at a major international championship, so I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s my first tapered 100m Freestyle and everything like that, so I knew that if I executed it correctly, there was a good swim in me, so I’m so happy.”
Ní Riain added: "If you told me I'd win a medal in the 100m Freestyle, I wouldn’t have believed that, so I’m really, really happy, and it just goes to show that the work I was doing all year did pay off, even though it may have been a little bit different.
“It’s a bit of a mystery event for me. It’s not an event for us at the Paralympic Games, so it’s a bit of a fun one we get to do at Europeans. That was just a fun one for me tonight, I wasn’t too nervous for it. It’s about resetting for the backstroke now tomorrow."
Ní Riain is back in the pool tomorrow as is UL’s Dylan Prenderville, who is a former student at St Munchin’s College.