Olympics 24: Ellen Walshe finishes eight in her first Olympic final

ELLEN Walshe this evening finished eight in her first Olympic final, the women’s 400m individual medley.

The Templeogue swimmer (22) clocked 4:40:70, a slightly slower time than her heat earlier on Monday – when Walshe put in a superb performance to secure a spot in the final. 

The incredible feat of securing a spot in an Olympic final makes Walshe one of only four athletes to become an Olympic swimming finalist for Ireland since the games began.

The race was won by Canada’s Summer McIntosh (4:27.71) with the US taking second and third with Katie Grimes (4:33.40) and Emma Weyant (4:34.93).

In an interview with RTE after the race, Walshe said that despite not clocking the time she would have hoped for, she was delighted to reach an Olympic final.

Walshe told RTE Sport: “I’m delighted I got to go into an Olympic final, not many people ever get to do that.

Templeogue Swim Club’s Ellen Walshe in action for Ireland during the women’s 400m individual medley heats in Paris (Pic: Ian MacNicol/Sportsfile)

“It was super exciting to be out there.

“It’s not exactly the performance I probably would have dreamed of… but delighted.

“I would have kind of expected myself to have a stronger swim tonight but I don’t think my legs were up for it.

“I think tonight I wasn’t really racing my own race, I was probably racing what was beside me instead of taking it out strong and holding on.”

She added: “When you see the time, you always want a PB.

“When you come to the Olympics you dream of swimming your fastest ever and when you don’t do it, you feel like you failed a bit but we’ll look at the overall in a few weeks.

“It’s a massive achievement and I don’t fully see it now but hope to look back and say ‘that was incredible’.

“Tonight was fantastic, I would have obviously liked to have been a bit quicker but it wasn’t tonight.”

Walshe now has a few days of rest before more pool action in the Women’s 200m IM on Friday, August 2.