Swimming

Swimming Update

Irish teenage swimming sensation fourteen year old Darragh Mc Donald won Paralympic silver tonight for Ireland in the 400m freestyle (S6 class) in the Water Cube in Beijing. The Wexford swimmer qualified second fastest for the final from this morning's two heats of the event, when he swam a massive PB and new Irish record of 5:13.68 to win heat one.

In front of his parents Caroline and Derek, many Irish team mates, and a packed Water Cube, to thunderous cheering the Gorey native showed tremendous nerve and focus for his tender years in tonight's final. He destroyed this morning's PB by just under four seconds hitting the wall in second place in 5:09.75; breaking his Irish record for the second time inside the space of a few hours.

The final was won in world record time by the reigning world champion Anders Olsson of Sweden in 4:48.31. With Olsson always going to be in command McDonald went out like lightening and by the second turn had edged the rest of the field. McDonald, who lines out for Asgard Swim Club in Arklow and is coached by John Keely continued to stretch his lead over the next 300metres and had a whopping 10.7 seconds to spare over the bronze medalist Matt Whorwood of Great Britain at the finish.

Afterwards Ireland's latest medalist at these Games said of his medal winning performance: "Coming here my objective was to make a final. I thought that is as close as I thought I would get to anything. I never thought I'd get this near this fast. It's great; I never thought anything like this could happen."

There was no doubting the effort McDonald put in to secure his podium finish: "I'm wrecked after that race I have to say, I thought I'd have to be dragged out of it!", he quipped.

McDonald's unexpected medal brings the Irish tally to four at these Games after Jason Smyth's sensational 100m (T13) win on the track last night, Micheal McKillop's 800m (T37) victory on Wednesday, and the leader of the pack bronze medalist Gay Shelly in the Individual Boccia competition on Tuesday last.

A beaming Geraldine Conway Irish swim team manager said of McDonald: "I was quietly confident all along. When I saw him this morning what he did; a massive PB and then this evening he was very centred, and very quietly confident in his own ability. That's what the training has done, being with the group and the team. For me it is all about self esteem and I knew that was going to come to the fore tonight. To get in too the final is massive, to get a medal is truly unbelievable."

In those morning heats of the 400m (S6) Johnny Cummings also swam for Ireland and was actually pitted in the same heat as McDonald. Cummings finished in fifth behind his Irish team mate and impressively swam a PB record in 5:50.54, shaving nearly three seconds off his previous mark.