Olympics 24: Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe secures spot in 400m medley final

ELLEN Walshe produced a superb finish in the 400m individual medley heat this morning, securing a spot in this evening’s final.

The Templeogue Swim Club athlete finished fourth in her heat with a time of 4:39:97, placing her seventh overall.

In a strong finish to get from sixth to fourth, Walshe will now return to the La Defense Arena in Paris tonight at 7.30pm Irish time – to compete in what will be her first Olympic final.

Speaking with RTE Sport after the race, Walshe said: “It’s actually a bit surreal.

“I just fought for the last 200m…and when we turned on the breaststroke, I was like, yeah, I’m gonna catch you.”

Ellen Walshe produced a strong finish to grab fourth place in her heat and a spot in the final of the 400 individual medley tonight as one of the fastest finishers.#RTESport #Paris2024
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— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 29, 2024

Looking forward to her first Olympic final, she said: “Today, I had an opportunity to be in that final and delighted to say I will be in that final tonight.”

Ireland’s Mona McSherry will also compete in a final this evening, taking to the pool at 8.25pm for the 100m breaststroke final.

Earlier today, Ireland’s hockey team put a confident performance in against Australia. 

However, as the final whistle blew it was Ireland 1 – Australia 2.

The team, which includes local athlete and Glenanne Hockey Club member Shane O’Donoghue, are up against India tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12.15pm.