JACK KELLY FINISHED seventh in the men’s 100m Breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris.
The 23-year-old finished in a time of 59.36, in a race won by Italian favourite Nicolò Martinenghi at 58.58.
Kelly is competing in his first major championships for Ireland.
“It could have been a little bit faster, especially in the front half,” said Kelly, “but you look at that swim on its own, it’s a really good swim for me, so I was really happy with it.
“I got seventh and it is what it is, but we just move forward.”
On Monday, Kelly qualified for the final by finishing second in the semi-finals with an Irish record of 58.90.
Not to be for Ireland's Jack Kelly in the men's 100m breaststroke final, as he finishes seventh in a time of 59.36 #RTESportpic.twitter.com/0AC15pWDJ0
Born in New York, Kelly has been eligible to represent Ireland since 2024.
He achieved the qualifying standard for the European Championships that year but was unable to join the team due to his passport not being processed in time.
Kelly’s Irish eligibility comes through his maternal grandparents. Kelly’s grandfather is from Cork and his grandmother from Longford.
Advertisement
Kelly’s mother, Clare O’Driscoll, was born in the US but spent part of her childhood in West Cork after her father returned to Ireland in the late 1970s to run the family’s dairy farm, with Kelly spending many summers visiting his family in Cork.
Elsewhere, Mona McSharry won her semi-final to qualify for the Women’s 100m Breaststroke semi-finals.
Mona McSharry wins her semi-final in a time of 1:05.64 to qualify for the final of the women's 100m breaststroke, with Ellie McCartney missing out after an eighth place finish #RTESportpic.twitter.com/UwHAdyTHem
McSharry clocked a time of 1:05.64, just outside her own Irish record time, to go through as the second-fastest qualifier.
“I’m happy with that,” said McSharry. “Being back down at the 1:05 and that was definitely a much better race than this morning.
“This morning I was a little nervous and rushed it a bit and tonight I felt like I really swam my own race and it felt good, so happy with it.
“It’s good to be back in here and just progressing through the rounds and trying to get faster every time.”
Ellie McCartney did not advance, finishing eighth in the same semi-final at 1:08.37.
Ireland's John Shortt has qualified for the final of the men's 200m backstroke after an impressive second place finish in his semi-final, posting a time of 1:55.31 #RTESportpic.twitter.com/5wedjmCmsI
In the men’s 200m Backstroke semi-finals, John Shortt qualified for the final after finishing second in his at 1:55.31.
“That was a super imperfect race,” said Shortt. “A lot of things I did not do well and I’ll be the first one to point them out, but at the same time it doesn’t matter how you start a race, it’s how you finish it, and I finished that really, really well.
“I know that there’s more in the tank for tomorrow evening, even though that was a super hard swim. There is definitely more in there, because I did not race that very good, so I’m delighted to have been able to get back.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Kelly finishes 7th in 100m Breaststroke final, McSharry wins semi-final
JACK KELLY FINISHED seventh in the men’s 100m Breaststroke final at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris.
The 23-year-old finished in a time of 59.36, in a race won by Italian favourite Nicolò Martinenghi at 58.58.
Kelly is competing in his first major championships for Ireland.
“It could have been a little bit faster, especially in the front half,” said Kelly, “but you look at that swim on its own, it’s a really good swim for me, so I was really happy with it.
“I got seventh and it is what it is, but we just move forward.”
On Monday, Kelly qualified for the final by finishing second in the semi-finals with an Irish record of 58.90.
Born in New York, Kelly has been eligible to represent Ireland since 2024.
He achieved the qualifying standard for the European Championships that year but was unable to join the team due to his passport not being processed in time.
Kelly’s Irish eligibility comes through his maternal grandparents. Kelly’s grandfather is from Cork and his grandmother from Longford.
Kelly’s mother, Clare O’Driscoll, was born in the US but spent part of her childhood in West Cork after her father returned to Ireland in the late 1970s to run the family’s dairy farm, with Kelly spending many summers visiting his family in Cork.
Elsewhere, Mona McSharry won her semi-final to qualify for the Women’s 100m Breaststroke semi-finals.
McSharry clocked a time of 1:05.64, just outside her own Irish record time, to go through as the second-fastest qualifier.
“I’m happy with that,” said McSharry. “Being back down at the 1:05 and that was definitely a much better race than this morning.
“This morning I was a little nervous and rushed it a bit and tonight I felt like I really swam my own race and it felt good, so happy with it.
“It’s good to be back in here and just progressing through the rounds and trying to get faster every time.”
Ellie McCartney did not advance, finishing eighth in the same semi-final at 1:08.37.
In the men’s 200m Backstroke semi-finals, John Shortt qualified for the final after finishing second in his at 1:55.31.
“That was a super imperfect race,” said Shortt. “A lot of things I did not do well and I’ll be the first one to point them out, but at the same time it doesn’t matter how you start a race, it’s how you finish it, and I finished that really, really well.
“I know that there’s more in the tank for tomorrow evening, even though that was a super hard swim. There is definitely more in there, because I did not race that very good, so I’m delighted to have been able to get back.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
European Aquatics Championships Jack Kelly Swimming