English add four golds to British tally in Portugal

The English contingent of the British para-swimming team claimed four more gold medals on the final day at the IPC Swimming European Championships 2016.

The highlight of the night was the women’s 34pt 4x100m Medley Relay, which saw the all-English quartet of Claire Cashmore, Susie Rodgers, Steph Millward and Harriet Lee win the final gold medal of the competition. They secured victory with a time of 4:53.15.

“I was a little tired going into that but I couldn’t let anyone down,” Millward said. “It’s a wonderful team and we supported each other well.”

“I knew I had to get a lead with these girls coming in and helping Susie out in the end,” Lee said. “I worked hard and it was great to be part of that team again.”

“I was shaking a little bit on the blocks,” Cashmore said. “I think I was a little bit nervous. As a team we really wanted to show our dominance going into Rio and I think we definitely did that.”

“It means the world,” Rodgers said. “I have to say these girls were amazing. I always need them to give me a great leg and they really did and they gave me such a lead and I just needed to hang on.”

For Millward and Rodgers, it was their second gold medal of the evening, having secured wins in their respective individual events.

Millward (Corsham ASC) claimed gold in the S9 400m Freestyle, coming from behind at the halfway point to finish in first place with a time of 4:45.71.

“That was a really good swim,” Millward said. “My coach told me to go out easy on the first 100m and then build on the rest. I thought I can do that, I’ve been practicing for a long time so that is exactly what I did.

“It feels incredible to go home with a gold, silver and a bronze now how wonderful is that?”

Beckenham’s Rodgers claimed her fourth gold medal of the competition in the S7 50m Freestyle.

She was pushed all the way by Germany’s Denise Grahl (34.25), but managed to take the touch in 33.80.

“I just gave it everything on that race and it’s great to end the week on a high,” said Rodgers.

“I wanted to try and go a 33 if I could, and it shows that it’s in there and gives me confidence.”

Slater claims second title of 2016 IPC Europeans

Steph Slater was the final English swimmer to claim a gold medal on the closing night of finals.

She swam 30.57 in the S8 50m Freestyle for her second title of the championships.

Among the other English medallists, international debutante Ellie Robinson claimed her fourth medal of the competition with a silver in the S6 50m Butterfly. The Northampton swimmer touched in 35.66 for a new personal best time.

Meanwhile, Jessica-Jane Applegate and Tom Hamer claimed bronze in their events. Applegate swam 2:26.49 in the SM14 200m Individual Medley while Hamer swam 2:15.94 in the men’s event.

• Click here to view full results from the IPC Swimming European Championships 2016.

Photo credit: Pedro Vasconcelos / IPC