The curtain finally fell on Ellen Keane's illustrious swimming career at the Paris Paralympics on Tuesday morning.
Last week, Keane endured a bitter reward for her efforts, finishing an agonising fourth by just 0.19 seconds in the S9 breaststroke final. She narrowly missed out on a third Paralympic medal in the event where she won bronze in Rio and gold in Tokyo.
The S9 100m backstroke would be the final event of her career, with Keane having announced earlier this year she would retire after the Paris Games.
Keane herself did not go into the event with high expectations. She only qualified for it in the weeks leading up to the Paralympics, saying that she did not want the breaststroke event to be her final race.
She would ultimately finish sixth in Tuesday's heat and 12th overall in the heats, leaving her outside the qualification places for this evening's final and bringing the curtain down on a wonderful swimming career for Ireland.
It was an emotional day for one of Ireland's great Paralympians, who was in good spirits as she fought back tears poolside in Paris.
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Ellen Keane's Paralympic journey comes to an end in Paris
Speaking to RTÉ, Ellen Keane summed up the emotion of her swimming career coming to an end, saying that she had cried in the call room before her final race.
An emotional Ellen Keane reflects on her final race and a remarkable career as an Irish paralmypian. #RTEparalympics #paris2024
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📱Updates https://t.co/v5Bu3Yuk9s pic.twitter.com/8zN0387sJi— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 3, 2024
Keane said that she was glad that the anguish of the breaststroke final had not been the final act of her career, and that she had enjoyed the pure racing feel of Tuesday's heat.
Ah, [I'm feeling] grand, I guess. I don't really know how to put it into words. I just feel so grateful.
I'm really glad I finished on an event that isn't my main one because I didn't feel the pressure, I just wanted to go out there and enjoy what racing feels like and enjoy the routine of it.
Even putting on the racing suit for the last time was awful but I really was living in the moment of everything I was doing.
I had a little cry in the call room - my face just keeps getting wet, I don't know what's happening.
It's a really emotional day, I knew it would be. The last few days have been really emotional as well.
Keane went on to say that she was glad she had been so vocal about her impending retirement, with many athletes sitting on the fence about the issue. The 29-year-old said that she had been determined to finish on "her terms."
Nonetheless, the emotion of the day truly hit Ellen Keane, who said that the support from home and further afield had really stuck with her this week.
She summed it up best with a quote from an unexpected source.
I really felt the moment of...this is coming to an end.
Winnie the Pooh said it best when he said, 'How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.'
It will be hard for Irish sports fans to imagine a Paralympic Team Ireland without Ellen Keane.
A wonderful Irish sporting career comes to a close.
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