Ellen Walshe of Ireland celebrates with her trainer Brian Sweeney after winning the 200m individual medley final at the European Aquatics Championships. Pic: ©INPHO/Giorgio Scala
Ellen Walshe claimed her second gold medal of the European Aquatics Championships on Saturday evening, adding the 200m individual medley title to the 400m individual medley gold she won on Wednesday.
Walshe swam 2:09.81 from lane 1, finishing 0.26 ahead of Italy's Anita Gastaldi in second, and 0.29 ahead of Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium in third.
The Templeogue swimmer was seventh after the butterfly and sixth when she touched the wall after the backstroke 50m. It was in the breaststroke and freestyle legs – just like the longer event on Wednesday – that her bid for a medal came alive.
"I don't know how I was feeling coming into it but… I don't even know honestly, I'm just so shocked."
Walshe turned in fifth after the breaststroke leg but just 25m later it was clear she was on course for gold.
Asked what she was feeling after the penultimate leg, Walshe said: "Oh just the underwater 15 hopefully, or somewhere around, that just to give myself maybe a bit of a boost and I just kicked the whole way home."
Just 75 minutes after her individual medley victory, Walshe was back in the pool for the 200m butterfly semi-final. Another strong second half saw her reach the final, finishing fourth in her race and fifth overall as she swam 2:08.96. That final will take place at 5:47pm on Sunday evening.
Tom Fannon qualified for the final of the 50m freestyle when he finished fifth in his semi-final and sixth overall. Shortly after, Mona McSharry qualified for the 50m breaststroke final when she came third in her semi-final and seventh overall. McSharry has already won silver in the 200m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m breaststroke.
"It was okay," McSharry said about her semi-final performance.
"Obviously, a little bit slower, which was not the plan. I was hoping I could go faster than this morning, but we have another shot tomorrow, and we're back in the final, so I just have to be happy with that and kind of not dwell on that race and just focus on how to make it better."
McSharry was able to watch Walshe win gold before she got in the pool.
"Thankfully, we had the TV in the call room, so I was watching, and oh, just buzzing for her. I mean, that's absolutely amazing. And again, just the underwaters off that last turn is just unbelievable. It's so great.
"I think it just gets me really excited, and I think just honestly in a happy mood because I obviously want to… She's a really good friend of mine, so I want to see her do well, but like anyone on the Irish team, when you see them do well, it kind of just spurs you on to also do well."
McSharry will step onto the blocks for the 50m breaststroke final at 5:35pm on Sunday.