Ellen Keane tipped to push on: ‘We’ve only started. This is the first medal of many’
Laurence McGivern has said the stunning performance of his former swimming colleague Ellen Keane in Thursday’s SB8 100m breaststroke final is merely the beginning of what he believes will be an enormously successful Paralympics for Ireland in Tokyo.
Holding off stiff competition from New Zealand’s Sophie Pascoe, the Dubliner secured a gold medal to go alongside the bronze she claimed in the same category at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She will also have an opportunity to add her ever-expanding list of accolades when she competes in the SM9 200m individual medley next Wednesday.
“It was very touch and go for a while there. She was speaking in an interview afterwards about her goggles filling up, which is pretty much every swimmer’s nightmare,” McGivern said.
“From what I hear, it actually just fuelled her motivation even more to push through in the end. We still have plenty more swims from Ellen and from the rest of the guys. We’ve only started. This is the first medal of many, I would expect.”
Although her victory represents Ireland’s 11th gold medal for swimming at the Paralympics, McGivern is adamant it is Keane’s success that can help to push the sport, and the wider Irish paralympic community, forward into Paris 2024 and beyond.
“It’s going to bring a lot to the sport of swimming and hopefully we’ll see a lot of great things coming down the track. It’s the first medal for Ireland at the games and it’s really putting Ireland on the map in terms of paralympic sport. It’s really great and just to see the Irish flag go up and to hear the anthem play is something really special.
“There is something to be said about the broader Irish Paralympic team. Ellen has the support of David Malone [her coach], who would have been to Paralympic Games in the past and would have medalled as well. It’s really great to have that background support.”
Remarkably, despite being just 26, Keane is competing at her fourth Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Born with an undeveloped left arm, the Clontarf woman was 13 when she travelled to Beijing in 2008. Building on this whirlwind experience, she went on to finish fifth in the 100m butterfly at the 2012 London Games before reaching the podium in Rio de Janeiro four years later.
McGivern also represented Ireland at the London Paralympics and the Co Down native remembers Keane as much for her resilience and boundless enthusiasm as he does for her undoubted ability in the pool.
Ellen is just a trooper. For anyone in paralympic sport, you come across so many obstacles in your life that really builds character and makes you stronger.
“Especially for Ellen, she has really brought that into her everyday life. I have several really fond memories of us training and Ellen is always going to be there to make sure everybody has a smile on her face. She’s just a real inspiration for the country.”