Sport

Paralympics: Ellen Keane goes for gold in 100m breaststroke final as Bocquet reaches 5000m Para Athletics final

Rowers, archers and cyclist also in action for Team Ireland on the morning of day two

NANTERRE, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Ellen Keane of Team Ireland competes in the Women's 100m Breaststroke SB8 heat race on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena on August 30, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
NANTERRE, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Ellen Keane of Team Ireland competes in the Women's 100m Breaststroke SB8 heat race on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena on August 30, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
By John McGovern

PARALYMPICS Day Two’s morning proceedings got underway with six Team Ireland representatives putting on remarkable performances including two final appearances being confirmed.

Para Swimming

Dublin’s Ellen Keane impressed with a joint first finish in Heat One of the 100m Breaststroke alongside the United Kingdom’s Brock Whitson with a commanding time of 1.24.59 minutes.

Keane could claim Team Ireland’s first medal of the Games as she cruised her way into the finals on Paralympics Day Two at the Paris La Defense Arena on Friday evening at 7.21pm against seven other athletes.

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Catherine Debrunner of Team Switzerland (R) competes against Manuela Schaer of Team Switzerland (L) and Shauna Bocquet of Team Ireland (C) in the Women's 5000m T54 Round 1 heat race on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Catherine Debrunner of Team Switzerland (R) competes against Manuela Schaer of Team Switzerland (L) and Shauna Bocquet of Team Ireland (C) in the Women's 5000m T54 Round 1 heat race on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Para Athletics 5000m

Galway woman Shana Bocquet represented Team Ireland in the Para Athletics 5000m heats first round to secure a spot in the finals on Saturday at 9.40am.

Bocquet finished fourth in her heat with a final time of 12.44.20 and will join the nine other fastest athletes for a potential medal opportunity.

Katie O’Brien & Tiarnan O’Donnell – Para Rowing Mixed Double Sculls

Following a minor delay to the morning rowing event due to thunderstorms, Team Ireland’s Katie O’Brien and Tiarnan O’Donnell hit the water for Heat One of the Mixed Double Sculls.

Team Ireland had a difficult time as they held fourth place throughout the race to finish in a time of 9.03 minutes behind Ukraine, Israel and heat winners, China.

The duo will have another chance at finals participation when they compete in the Repechages on Saturday August 31 at 9.50am.

PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Kerrie Leonard of Team Ireland competes against Jiamin Zhou of Team People's Republic of China (not pictured) in the Women's Individual Compound Open 1/16 Elimination Match 1 on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Esplanade Des Invalides on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - AUGUST 30: Kerrie Leonard of Team Ireland competes against Jiamin Zhou of Team People's Republic of China (not pictured) in the Women's Individual Compound Open 1/16 Elimination Match 1 on day two of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Esplanade Des Invalides on August 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Para Archery

Kerrie Leonard was the first Irish athlete to compete on Day Two.

The Co Meath native achieved season best performance in the ranking round of the Women’s Individual Compound Open on the Paralympic’s opening day with a score of 653 to finish in spot 21 out of 28 competitors.

Unfortunately, Leonard was unable to progress pass Day Two’s elimination round in a tightly fought defeat, scoring a commendable 135 points. However, she fell just five points short of China’s Jiaman Zhou 140-point finish.

Para Cycling

Galway’s Ronan Grimes took to the Para Cycling track against 23 other competitors to finish in an impressive time of 1.06.41 and an average speed of 54.20km per hour.

Grimes narrowly missed qualification to the next round, finishing eight overall, just two places short of a qualification spot. Australia’s Korey Boddington won the race with a Paralympic record time of 1.02.02.