Evgeniia Chikunova won gold in 2:19.32, with Britain’s Angharad Evans second in 2:21.21. Ellie McCartney was also in the final, finishing eighth in 2:26.93 in what RTÉ Sport described as a stacked field. The Sligo woman is back on the podium, as The 42 put it, and she has now medalled in both breaststroke events in Paris.

Irish attention has been split between the pool in Paris and the track in recent days, with Sharlene Mawdsley among the names in the spotlight and the rest of Ireland’s European Championships team still in action. Two medals in one week marks the strongest of returns for McSharry, and the European Aquatics Championships have days left to run.