Firth claims S14 100m Backstroke world record

There was lots of excitement in the pool in day one swimming heats at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games including a world record from Bethany Firth.

Firth of Newcastle Swim Team broke her own S14 100m Backstroke record after a terrific swim. She touched in 1:04.53 to claim lane four for tonight’s final, just under three seconds ahead of Dutch rival Marlou Van Der Kulk.

And another WR! This time it’s @BethanyFirth2 in the heats of the S14 100m Backstroke! #Supercharge#RioRecordspic.twitter.com/nXQZqJutLk

— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) September 8, 2016

UEA Norwich swimmer Jessica-Jane Applegate also claimed a spot in the final. Applegate, who won 200m Freestyle gold at London 2012, touched in 1:08.41.

Hynd powers into S8 400m Freestyle final

Ollie Hynd of Nova Centurion dominated his heat to qualify fastest for tonight’s S8 400m Freestyle final. Hynd finished over six seconds ahead of the field, touching in 4:31.90.

Josef Craig of Sunderland also qualified for the final. Craig, who won Paralympic 400m Freestyle gold champion in the S7 class four years ago, touched third in his heat in 4:41.93 to qualify seventh fastest overall.

Corsham ASC swimmer Stephanie Millward was the first female swimmer to claim a final spot for ParalympicsGB. She qualified third fastest overall in the S8 400m Freestyle with a time of 4:59.95.

The SB9 100m Breaststroke saw Harriet Lee progress for ParalympicsGB as the Netherlands’ Lisa Kruger claimed a world record.

Lee was third in her heat with a time of 1:21.67 as Kruger took the record down to 1:15.47.

The final swimmer to claim a finals spot for Great Britain was Jonathan Fox of NPC Manchester. He finished his race in a time of 1:11.37 to secure lane four in the Men’s S7 100m Backstroke final.

• View full results from day one swimming heats at the Rio 2016 Paralympic games.