IRELAND'S Paralympic hero Ellen Keane took to social media following her Gold medal victory to thank her fans for their undying support.
The 26-year-old won the SB8 100m breaststroke with a magnificent performance in which she beat her own personal best by nearly two seconds.
It's Ireland's first Gold medal of the Paralympic Games, and fans lauded Keane for bringing it home in such a calm and collected fashion.
But the Paralympic swimmer revealed that once the dust had settled, she'd actually had "a little cry".
"To those who’ve said I’m the calmest gold medal winner they’ve ever seen… I’m currently sitting in the food hall by myself having a little cry," she tweeted on Thursday.
"It’s finally sinking in. Some dreams do come true. Thank you for all the support x."
To those who’ve said I’m the calmest gold medal winner they’ve ever seen…
I’m currently sitting in the food hall by myself having a little cry.
It’s finally sinking in.
Some dreams do come true 🥇
2008 - 6th
2021 - 1st
Thank you for all the support x pic.twitter.com/ZvAu4QKC4S— Ellen Keane PLY💜 (@keane_ellen) August 26, 2021
"I don't think it's fully sank in yet," she told RTÉ after her record-breaking swim.
"When I dove in my goggles filled with water, I think maybe that was a good thing because I couldn't see where the girls were around me. Just on the turn I could see Sophie a little bit.
"I had a game plan in mind and I stuck to that. The last thing my coach said to me before I went in was 'if I need to push you in a wheelchair home I want those legs wrecked' and that's exactly what I did.
"I tend to rush my stroke when I try to go fast so it was more about being long and strong and controlled."
Keane revealed she gave up social media to help ease her nerves heading into the Games.
She said: "I took a break from social media because I felt like it was distracting me a bit and even going online I felt the nerves creeping in.
"For this games I wanted to be as present as possible and that's really what I've been doing. This is the first games I've been at where I've not been nervous, I've been so calm.
"Even last night I was a little bit worried as to how calm I was, then for the heats I was a little bit nervous but just for the final I was calm again."
