THINGS just keep getting better and better for Portaferry’s Sycerika McMahon.
The 17 year-old swimming sensation won the silver medal in the 50 metres breaststroke final at the European Championships in Hungary on Sunday.
Sycerika set a new Irish record of 31.27 in the non-Olympic event when she finished only two one hundredths of a second behind the Czech Republic’s Petra Chocova. Sunday’s performance completed a tremendous championships for the Portaferry teenager, who secured an Olympic place in the 100m breaststroke a few days earlier.
Sycerika, who turned 17 last month, produced another incredible performance to take silver to become only the sixth Irish swimmer to win a medal at a major championships.
“To look up at the board and see that I had won a medal was just amazing, an incredible feeling for me,” she said.
“ I’m just so proud to be representing my country at the highest level and to win a medal is a huge bonus.
“Having done well in the semi-finals I was confident going into the final, but you’re never sure if some of the swimmers are holding something back because you’re swimming against the very best in Europe.
“I just gave it my best and it all paid off. To win a medal at my first European senior championships is hard to take in. I have a lot of people to thank, my coaches Bobby and Katherine, my mum and everybody who has supported me.
“I was just 0.02 away from gold which would have been just perfect, but I’m not complaining — a silver medal is just brilliant.
“I’m so excited now about London, I can’t wait to enjoy the experience of that and I guess I’m even more excited after winning this medal.
“It’s everyone’s dream to win a medal at the Olympics. It’s my dream too and hopefully one day that can happen. I hope this is just the start of me winning major medals. I want more for sure.”
“It’s unbelievable because I really wasn’t expecting it and I’m so happy. You know I love the 50m breaststroke, it’s one of my favourite events and I find it really fun and it’s thanks to a team effort after a week of swimming that I got to this stage in such great shape.”