Enniskillen swimmer Ellie McCartney made her European Juniors debut in Bucharest representing a seven-strong Irish swimming team in what was to be a challenging week for the swimmer.

She was part of a seven-strong Irish swimming team that competed at the LEN European Junior Swimming Championships from July 5-10, the event taking place in the brand new Otopeni Aquatics Centre in Bucharest, Romania.

It allowed the swimmers to test themselves against the best on the continent; U18 for females and U19 for males.

Ellie McCartney due to compete in four events over the week, but unfortunately, shortly after arriving in Bucharest, she was declared medically unfit with Covid-19 and missed the first four days of competition.

After being confirmed fit to swim and with just one day back in the pool training, she competed in the 100m Breaststroke on Saturday morning. The National Centre Ulster-based athlete’s swim made up for lost time to record a super time of one minute 11.31 seconds.

Speaking after her morning heat, McCartney said: “It was a solid swim, I think it was my third fastest time ever, so it’s good to come away with that. I have improved my performance since trials, so that’s always good.

"It was unexpected because of the situation I was in this week, I’m glad to be back for semis tonight. I didn’t really know what was going to happen today, I just wanted to give it my all and hopefully make it back, which luckily, I did.”

Following the impressive heat swim, Ellie returned to the blocks for the 100m Breaststroke semi-final; she finished 14th place overall, moving up two spots from the morning. Also swimming in the same semi-final was the eventual winner Eneli Jefimova of Estonia, who is one of the fastest juniors in European history.

The swimmer, originally from Enniskillen, can come away from the event with many positives, showing great character to make a semi-final following a challenging week, which kept her out of the action.

Speaking after the race, McCartney said: “Going into tonight, I wanted to focus on the technical side, I executed it much better than this morning but unfortunately, the time was pretty similar. It is great to move up the rankings and end up 14th in Europe. Most people had a week of racing, I only had a day, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions but I’m happy with the result. I didn’t know what to expect and to come back so to come back for the semi-final was great.”

Her National Centre Coach, Kevin Anderson, tweeted: “Ellie moved from 16th to 14th tonight at European Juniors. Going through this adversity and missing her best event due to Covid-19 will make her a stronger athlete and better prepared for future experiences. After being isolated for five days .. she is able to step up like this. This is the character champions are made of!”

Ellie worked hard on the build-up to the championships, and it was disappointing that she was unable to compete in more events, but the character and determination she showed once she got in the pool, along with the international experience, will provide a massive boost for her confidence as she continues to grow.

The continuing opportunity in sports to meet competitors from other countries, swap swim caps or t-shirts and broaden their horizons is a great reason to make massive commitments. The support of Sport NI, Swim Ireland and the Mary Peters Trust continues to be invaluable as Ellie progresses.