Russell clocks European record on day two
4th March 2012
Hannah Russell set a new S12 European record on her way to the victory in the women’s MC 100m Backstroke on the day two at the British Gas Swimming Championships 2012 in London.
Russell (S12) who is aiming to qualify for her first Paralympic Games took the home crowd in her stride as she settled into her stroke rate quickly.
She touched in a time of 1:09.52 to take the victory with a total of 973.
“I am absolutely amazed,” Russell said. “I didn’t know I had it in me. When I found out my time I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it.”
Paralympic medallist Nyree Kindred (S6) secured a time to put her into consideration for Paralympic qualification after finishing in a time of 1:28.37 and won silver with 950 points.
Swansea Performance swimmer, Stephanie Millward (S9), won the bronze medal in a time of 1:11.28 with a total of 919.
Five-time European champion Susie Rodgers (S7) just missed out on the medals in fourth but took consolation from touching under the qualification time for the Paralympics.
World Champion Jonathan Fox starred in the final of the men’s MC 100m Backstroke as he retained his British title with a strong performance.
The S7 category swimmer stuck to his race plan and stopped the clock on 1:11.07 and won the gold with a total of 1037 points.
“It was a really good event for me,” Fox said. “I came into the heats looking to get the Paralympic qualifying time there which I did with a 1:11.60.
“I tried to go on again and break my world record in the final. It didn't quite happen but I'm really happy with a 1:11.07.The turn in the backstroke today was really good. I kept the streamline going and it meant I could pull it back in the last 50m.”
Aaron Moores (S14) won the silver medal with a total of 926 points after reaching the wall in 1:05.45. The bronze went to James Crisp (S9) in 1:04.34 with 888 points. All three athletes swam under their required qualification time for the Paralympic Games.
The men’s 50m Backstroke saw James Anderson (S2) win with a total of 788 points after finishing in 1:08.38. Andrew Mullen (S5) won the silver with a time of 43.84 and 511 points. Anthony Stephens (S5) won the bronze in 44.58 with 486 points.
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