Ellie McCartney continued her stellar performance at the European Under-23 Championships in Slovakia by clinching a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke. The 20-year-old from Enniskillen showcased her determination and skill, finishing with a personal best time of two minutes 24.02 seconds.

McCartney found herself in third place halfway through the race, trailing behind Denmark's Clara Rybek-Anderson and Lithuania's Kotryna Teterekova. However, she surged ahead of Teterekova in the second 100 meters, narrowly missing out on catching Rybek-Anderson, who finished just 0.13 seconds ahead with a time of two minutes 23.89 seconds.

This silver medal adds to McCartney's impressive haul from the championships, following her gold in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 100m breaststroke earlier in the week. Reflecting on her performance, McCartney said, "I'm happy with how the past few days have panned out. In the general scale of things, this is only one step forward to the World Championships in Singapore."

She added, "It's bittersweet being so close to getting gold again, but to get a personal best, I know I put my best foot forward and my best performance out there. To walk away a European U23 champion is more than I could have dreamed of. I've achieved my goals that I wanted to while I was here, and anything else was a bonus, so I'm walking away with my head held high."

McCartney's performance not only highlights her growing prowess in the swimming world but also sets a strong foundation as she prepares for future international competitions.