Swim Ulster had the pleasure of having three athletes travel to Paris this summer to compete in the Paralympic Games as part of Paralympics Ireland. Barry McClements (National Centre Ulster), Dearbhaile Brady (Limavady Swimming Club), and Deaten Registe (Lisburn Swimming Club) took to the world stage to compete at the La Defense Arena from 29th August to 6th September in the swimming pool.
29th August
To get the Games started, Deabhaile Brady made her Paralympics debut on the first day of action on Thursday 29th August. Brady swam in heat two of the S6 50m Freestyle, with her teammate Nicole Turner also swimming in the same heat. Brady posted a time of 36.45 to finish 5th in her heat and 10th overall. The 17-year-old set a new lifetime best, breaking her previous time of 36.76 set in May 2024 at the Irish Open National Championships in Dublin.
Brady, one of the youngest members of Team Ireland, said: “I’m really happy; it went well. It was a personal best. I came out today very nervous; I think it’s good to have them. With it being my first Games and first event, I was hoping to make the final, but it didn’t happen. I still have one more event, so I’m going to put my head down.”
Speaking on the support: “It was my dad’s birthday yesterday. He was in the crowd today along with my family watching me. It’s like a home crowd.”
After narrowly missing out on qualification to the final, her focus shifted toward the S6 50m Butterfly later in the week.
2nd September
Our second Ulster swimmer making a splash at the Games was Deaten Registe of Lisburn Swimming Club. The morning of 2nd September saw Deaten race in the SB14 100m Breaststroke. Whilst making his Paralympic debut, Registe entered the competition with recent international experience coming off the back of competing at the European Para Swimming Championships this year.
In a competitive heat swim, racing against the reigning Paralympic gold medallist Naohide Yamaguchi (Japan) and Tokyo silver medallist Jake Michel (Australia), Deaten touched the wall fourth in his heat, and qualified for the final in eighth place in a time of 1:08.49.
Speaking initially after the race, Registe said: “I feel good, the race went okay but I feel like I’ve got more in me, I’m happy. I just want to go out there, try my best, give it my all and see what I can do. To make a final on my Paralympic debut, I’m just over the moon, my coach (Stan Sheppard) was here supporting me too.” Later that night, Registe stepped up to the blocks once again to race against the world in the final of the SB14 100m Breaststroke.
As the stadium filled and the lights dipped to create an electric atmosphere, it was time for Deaten Registe to swim the final of the SB14 100m Breaststroke. Taking to the pool in the final, Registe swam a brilliant race and touched the wall in sixth place in a new lifetime best time of 1:07.82, dipping under his previous best of 1:07.90 set back in January.
Speaking after the event, the 20-year-old said: “It felt better than this morning, I wanted to go quicker, than this morning, I came back strong and it’s a personal best. It’s really good to get the experience of what the Games is like, it’s my first one, I made my debut tonight and went faster tonight, I’m happy out. I aim to try get lower (the time) as times goes on, so hopefully I can be in LA.”
As the day closed and Degiste’s Games finished, we eagerly awaited the action of the morning to come as Barry McClements gets his Games underway and Brady returns to the pool.
3rd September
Barry McClements got his Paralympic Games underway on Day 6 of the Paralympics. McClements, returning for his second Paralympic Games having raced in Tokyo, competed in the S9 100m Backstroke. The NCU swimmer swam the morning heats in a time of 1:05.36, finishing fourth in his heat and eighth overall, which secured him a spot in that evening’s final.
Post heat swim, Barry spoke and said “I’m happy, the plan was to get into the final, I knew I just had to beat four people so I finished in eight and I think I can go faster tonight (in the final). My form has been building since Tokyo and I’ve been getting faster so I’m happy the hard work is paying off. I’m very happy, finals tonight and hopefully, I’ll get a PB.”
Barry wasn’t the only Ulster athlete in the pool that morning, as Dearbhaile Brady returned to the water to race in the S6 50m Butterfly. After setting a new lifetime best in the S6 50m Freestyle earlier in the week, she was able to carry this momentum through into a new event. Racing yet again in the same heat as Nicole Turner of Ireland, Brady stopped the clock in a time of 38.73. This time placed her sixth overall and booked her a spot in that evening’s final. Brady commented after her swim, “I felt very good, better than my 50m freestyle. They (nerves) were kind of there in the call room, but not as bad. I was ready to get in there and swim. It went according to plan. It was fast, I gave it everything as I wasn’t sure about a final.”
As Day 6 finals kicked off, it was McClements first up to race on the world stage. Having qualified in eighth place, Barry raced hard against the world’s best and posted a time of 1:05.56, marginally slower than the morning heat and touched the wall in eighth place. After the swim, Barry commented on his race, “My turn wasn’t great at the halfway point, if that had been fixed it might have been a different result, but it was a quick fast race, and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t my main event, so I just concentrated on having a good swim and enjoying it. It was great to hear my family and friends cheering me on in the stands.”
Returning to the pool after a solid morning swim was Dearbhaile Brady in the S6 50m Butterfly final. In what was an electrifying race, Brady swam in contention with the field throughout the distance of the pool and touched the wall in fifth place, setting a new lifetime best of 37.67 at her first Paralympic Games. Speaking after her race, Brady said: “That went really well, that was a PB for me, so I’m delighted with that. I’m a lot faster than I was last year, that’s how much I’ve changed. I wasn’t too nervous. I decided it’s the final and I didn’t know what was going to happen, so I went out to enjoy it. I’m really happy how I finished.”
With Brady and Registe now finished their competition, it was only McClements left to race in the S9 100m Butterfly on Day 9 of the Games.
6th September
As our last Ulster athlete who was still competing in the Games, Barry McClements took to the La Defense Arena on Day 9 of the competition to race the S9 100m Butterfly. After two good swims in the S9 100m Backstroke earlier in the week, McClements came into this race focused on racing fast once again. After a solid heat swim, Barry touched the wall in third place in a time of 1:01.85, just fractionally outside of his lifetime best of 1:01.39. This time posted was Barry’s second fastest ever heat swim and placed him sixth into the final that evening.
Speaking after this morning’s heat, McClements said: “That felt good. There were no technical issues, the start and turn were both good. I maybe got caught out in the first couple of strokes and tied up in the last 15m, but that will be corrected tonight so I’m happy enough.”
My front-end speed isn’t as fast as the other guys, I always bring it back. At the Europeans I turned fifth at the wall and finished third, so my back-end speed I’m able to bring it back a bit more than the other guys. That’s my second fastest morning swim ever, so hopefully a PB tonight.”
For the final swim of the Games, Barry returned to the Arena, carrying his momentum from the morning heats into the final. Swimming in lane seven, McClements stayed with the pack throughout the two lengths of the Paris pool, stopping the clock at 1:01.24 to finish fifth. This time marked a new lifetime best, lowering his previous personal best time of 1:01.39, set at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships.
After his final, Barry said: “If I look back three years ago, I didn’t even have a place to train, I had to train away from home for a year, that didn’t quite work out. I’ve moved back home, and I’ve only been with my new coach (Kevin Anderson) a year and a half, I owe lot of credit to him and to my team back home. Kevin (Anderson), Ryan (Keating), Sinead (Chambers) and Dave (Thompson), they really helped make the dream come through. I’ve got another four years until LA; I’m looking forward to it.”
Speaking on his experience in Tokyo, McClements added: “I’m actually so happy, in Tokyo I kind of forgot to enjoy the races, here I really enjoyed them, so I’m really happy. I’ve been away for a month now, it was great to seeing my family up there, I can’t wait to see them, I’ve really enjoyed the experience. In Tokyo, I only made one final, now I’ve made two finals and in fifth I was really close to a medal. I’m really excited to see what the next four years holds.”
After an amazing nine days of competition, the Paralympic Games for our 3 Ulster swimmers came to an end. For Deabhaile and Deaten making their Paralympic Games debuts, they can be proud to call themselves Paralympians having performed amazingly on the world stage and competing at the top level of their sport. For Barry, who now has the two-time Paralympian credentials, his performance over the Games has placed him at the forefront of his sport and will give him the confidence going forward to work towards adding the LA28 Games to his list of accomplishments.
Stephen Cuddy, Swim Ulster’s Chief Executive reflected on the Games: “As CEO of Swim Ulster, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our three incredible Ulster Paralympians—Barry, Deaten, and Dearbhaile—who represented us so brilliantly at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. It is fantastic to see our legacy of Paralympic success continue, building on the inspiration of Bethany’s gold medal at London 2012 and multiple medals in subsequent Games. These athletes have shown immense dedication and talent, and it is pleasing to see the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham playing a crucial role in their development. Congratulations to the coaches and clubs/NCU who have prepared you so well, and to Sport NI/Sport Ireland for funding. Well done, and here’s to even greater success in LA 2028!”
From everyone at Swim Ulster and from our vast community, we are all very proud of the three athletes who have represented Ulster and Ireland on the world stage, and we look forward to what is next to come.