Bangor teenager Grace Davison calls Olympic Games debut 'really special'

Davison, Belfast’s Victoria Catterson and Larne’s Danielle Hill – plus Erin Riordan – took part in the Saturday women’s 4x100m freestyle relay heat schedule.

Home eighth in heat one left Team Ireland unable to progress and focus for the group will now turn to next Saturday’s women’s 4x100m medley relay.

Paris marked Team Ireland’s first female relay appearance at the Olympic Games since Munich 1972.

The time of 3:42.67 proved just beyond the Irish record of 3:41.75.

Hill entered the event with experience from Tokyo but Saturday provided Olympic Games debuts for Catterson and Davison.

“It's really exciting,” said Davison. “I'm privileged to be amongst these girls...I've known them for probably less than they've all known each other but they've made me feel really welcome.

"And I was really confident walking out with them this morning and I think we all push each other on and that's really special to have in the team.”

Catterson had high praise for Davison.“To be out here with the girls and like Grace only being 16, I think we can all say that she's held herself incredibly,” she said. “All of us, I think at 16 would have been a mess out there - like the crowd that loud and stuff but no, she has held herself so well and we're all so proud to have her on the team with us.

"We're just so proud to be up here representing our country with these girls.

"It's just a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Hill called the debut “incredible”.

She added: “And obviously freestyle isn't the forte, but to stand you know, alongside these girls, and get that first kind of nerves out of the way and now we can look forward to the rest of the week, the individual races and back up in the relay again, so you know that's just the first step done, run through processes of everything, you know, fine line some things and move forward now.”