WITH gold and bronze already in her bag, Ellie McCartney added silver in last night’s 200m breaststroke final at the European Under-23 Championships in Slovakia.
McCartney clocked the fastest heat time of 2:28.07, claiming a central lane for the final.
However, she could not catch Denmark’s Clara Rybak-Andersen, who took gold in 2:23.89.
McCartney was just 0.13 of a second behind — a personal best — with Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova third in 2:24.86.
The Enniskillen native said: “I’m happy with the past few days, this is one step forward to the World Championships in Singapore.
“It’s bittersweet being so close to getting gold again, but to get a PB, I know I put my best foot forward. I’ve achieved my goals and I’m walking away with my head high.”
Mona McSharry warmed up for next month’s World Championships by picking up her second silver medal at the Sette Colli International meet in Rome.
The Olympic medallist was second in the 200m breaststroke final to Great Britain’s Angharad Evans, who registered 2:23.03.
McSharry clocked 2:25.05, with home swimmer Francesca Fangio third in 2:25.18. Ellen Walshe also completed the medal set in a busy evening, taking silver in the 200m butterfly and bronze in the 200m Individual Medley in the Italian capital.
The Templeogue swimmer won gold in the 400m IM on Friday.
Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl took gold in the butterfly in 2:07.68 with Walshe 1.91secs back. Italy’s Paola Borrelli was third in 2:09.72.
Just over an hour later, the two-time Olympian was back in the pool for the 200m IM.
The 23-year-old was third in 2:11.80. Great Britain’s Abbie Wood was first in 2:10.72, followed by compatriot Katie Shanahan in 2:11.33.
