Limerick swimmer reaches World Championship final in impressive style

LIMERICK swimmer Róisín Ní Riain took a big step towards adding a World title to her European crown as she reached the final of the World Para Swimming Championships in impressive fashion.

The second morning of the 2026 World Para Swimming Championships saw both Róisín Ní Riain and her Ireland team-mate Emersyn Scully advance to tonight’s finals in Kocaeli, Türkiye.

Ní Riain made her first appearance of the week, while Scully was making her international debut for Ireland.

Ní Riain, competing in the first of six events this week, headed into this morning’s 100m Breaststroke (SB13) heat as the reigning European champion, having won gold at the 2024 edition of the championships in Madeira, Portugal.

The National Centre (Limerick) swimmer advanced comfortably through the heat and into tonight’s final in a time of 1:19.69.

Ní Riain will return to the blocks this evening as the fourth-fastest qualifier, with just over a second separating the Limerick swimmer from Belarusian Anastasiya Zudzilava.

“This morning was just about putting down a good, solid swim," said Ní Riain after the race. "It’s the first race of the competition, and I was quite nervous this morning, so it’s nice to get in and get that done. It’s really important to get in and race.

"I’m usually up on day one, so it was a bit different not racing yesterday, but it gave me that extra night to sit back and watch a little bit of racing and made me even more excited for the rest of the week.

"It’s about taking it day by day, seeing how each race goes, and then resetting before the next one.”

Wexford's Scully had an unforgettable international debut for Ireland as she broke her personal best while qualifying for her first European final, clocking a time of 1:16.72 to advance to tonight’s final in sixth place.

Both swimmers will compete again later on Tuesday.