Paris 2024: No Day 1 swim semis for Ireland but plenty 'bodes well'

It was testament to the sheer amount of rainfall since Paris 2024's Opening Ceremony day that La Défense Arena in the western reaches of the city was a case of dry land ahoy.

The atmosphere was building throughout the warm-ups in what looked like a near sellout for the first day of action for the swimmers at this summer's (tell this weekend's weather gods!) Olympics.

Far above in the second tier of seats, a tricolour was draped over the rafters, whilst down in the seats closest to the pool, an Irish rugby jersey with the red sponsor logo was easy to pick out.

From an Irish perspective there wasn't long to wait to see a member of Team Ireland take to the pool in the morning session.

Ellen Walshe entered the fray early, in the second heat, shortly after 11am local time to take part in the 100m butterfly.

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In what is her second Olympics, the Templeogue native finished seventh in the heat in a time of 58.70 that was shy of her 57.96 PB over the distance and outside the qualification places for the semi-finals.

But as RTÉ swimming co-commentator and Atlanta 1996 Olympian Nick O'Hare emphasised, the 100m butterfly is not her primary event.

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"She didn't do her best time but that's not her best event," he said.

"A huge talent of a