Whiston wins silver to round off a night of impressive debuts and title defences

Brock Whiston claimed the silver medal on her debut Paralympic final to win a third swimming medal for Paralympics GB on day two.

After two successful title defences from Tully Kearney and Maisie Summers-Newton, Whiston rounded off the finals session in superb style to earn her first Paralympic medal.

The 27-year-old never looked like dropping out of the medal places during the Women’s 100m Breaststroke SB8 final.

Spain’s Anastasiya Dmytriv Dmytriv looked to have opened up a comfortable lead on her way to winning gold, but Whiston charged down the final 50m to push her all the way.

The gap between the pair closed with every stroke, but the wall came too soon for Whiston who finished just over a second behind the Spaniard in a time of 1:21.04.

Although she was happy to be taking home a medal, Whiston wasn’t content with her performance.

She said: “I’m actually really disappointed – not because I came second but my time.

“I’ve done a lot faster this season. I don’t really know what happened, I think I went out too slow and then had too much work to do on the second 50m.

“Until I look back at the race I don’t really know what went wrong, but I’m actually really disappointed in my time, so not the best swim but happy to get a silver medal.

“I should be proud of myself but I’m quite harsh on myself and I always want to do better.

“I think a lot of people still look back at the time I did in 2019 and unfortunately I’m not that athlete anymore, a lot has changed with my impairments, so I’m disappointed again with the time but I should be happy.”

Dee enjoying Paralympic experience

Also competing in their debut Paralympic finals earlier in the session were Bruce Dee and twin sisters Scarlett and Eliza Humphrey.

All three athletes make up the Northampton contingent alongside Maisie Summers-Newton.

Dee was the first of the three to compete after progressing through to the final of the Men’s 200m Individual Medley SM6.

The 18-year-old produced a strong swim but finished just outside of the medal places after posting a time of 2:43.40.

On how he’s found his Paralympic experience so far, he said: “It’s something else. I haven’t experienced anything like it.

“It’s been quite cool with everyone cheering and seeing my mates from school – it’s crazy.

“I’m just excited. I don’t really care what happens, I’m just excited for what comes next.”

Scarlett and Eliza Humphrey shared one of the most special moments of the Games so far after they had the unique experience of competing side-by-side in lanes seven and eight in the Women’s 400m Freestyle S11 final.

Both athletes improved on the times they set in the heats to finish in sixth and eighth respectively.

Before the Humphrey sisters took to the water, Grace Harvey also secured a fourth place finish in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley SM6 final.

She too progressed her time on from the heats to clock in at 3:04.35 in the final and explained that the crowd and the atmosphere was ‘amazing’.

“I loved my time out there racing today,” said Harvey.