This time fourth stings for Ni Riain

There was expectant relief 24 hours later when she touched for silver in her strongest 100m backstroke event.

Her second medal four days further on brought delight. After a series of near misses in the 200m individual medley at past World Championships, she was finally on the podium. Finally on the right side of a close touch. A brilliant bronze to go with earlier silver.

And then there was Thursday evening. Another fourth. But this breaststroke fourth was no relation of her butterfly fourth from the same evening last week.

The same as it was for Ellen Keane last Friday, this was a frustrating fourth. Her words and tone told as much. The disappointment could not be hidden. Once she had conducted her final post-race interview, Ní Riain turned and creased her face in pure vexation. This one stung. It stung hard. The fierce competitor in her was disgusted.

“For sure,” she replied when this writer asked if this latest fourth carried a far different feeling to last week. “People were trying to put out that I was kind of disappointed after that, I definitely wasn’t. I was very happy with that swim.

“But I’m disappointed with this one. Went into that final [ranked] third and came out fourth, so obviously that is not what I wanted.

“It’s all part of it. With the good swims, there are the bad swims as well. I can only learn from it.” 

The 19-year-old turned at halfway in fourth. The back half is where she’s strongest, and for a brief period around the 75-metre mark, she had improved into third. But it was obvious the strokes were shortening approaching the wall.

A busy program of four events was perhaps catching up with her. The wall was touched well adrift in fourth. Her 1:19.16 time was slower than her 1:19.05 heat swim. It was a time that left her seven tenths of a second off the USA’s Colleen Young in third. It was a time that was well off her 1:18.00 PB from earlier this year.

After three finals where she either achieved what she expected or went above expectation, she finished with a below-par effort.

“I always have expectations of myself. I know what I’m capable of. I’m definitely capable of more than that swim there.

“I had a good start, but it wasn’t there in the end, and I definitely had a very bad finish, but it is all learning. I’m sure my coach will have plenty to say about it and definitely about that second 50.” 

Whenever she gets around to parking her frustration, Ní Riain will know hers was an outstanding Games. Two medals and two fourths. She was right there at the business end for each and every event.

In fact, such was the impressiveness of her earlier swims that she came into last night on the cusp of equaling history. Mairead Berry is the sole female Para swimmer to win three medals for Ireland at the one Games. That was 24 years ago in Sydney. Ní Riain was 0.74 away from matching that feat. That's the level she’s operated at in Paris.

Her performances alone meant Ireland matched their swimming medal haul of two from Tokyo three years ago.

Come LA in four years' time, she’ll chase history and the podium’s top step. Nothing surer.

“Coming here and getting two medals, that’s exactly what I wanted. Definitely happy with that. Obviously disappointed right now with that swim, but I’ll be able to look back and I’ll be happy.” 

She knows also the role she’s playing in offering inspiration to visually impaired boys and girls back home. As Katie-George Dunlevy was so quick to point out after her time trial gold on Wednesday, Ireland’s Paralympic medal haul has been won exclusively by visually impaired women.

It is a group and a conversation that Ní Riain is proud to be part of and be at the front of.

“Yeah, for sure. Exactly what Katie said. It’s great to have that for us and for younger kids to be able to look up and see that, that’s really great as well.”