Maisie Summers-Newton 'in a great place' ahead of Paris Paralympic Games

Paralympic champion Maisie Summers-Newton is aiming for gold at the upcoming Paris Paralympic Games.

The 22-year-old goes into her second Games after taking both the SM6 200m Individual Medley and SB6 100m Breaststroke gold in Tokyo and is hopeful of defending her titles in the French capital.

She said: “I’m swimming the fastest I’ve ever swam, to be honest. So I think that puts me in a great place. I got a personal best in May on my 200IM and in my 100 breaststroke, I’ve been right on that too.

“So I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go out there and get gold.

“But at the same time, I think you’ve got to be kind to yourself and just enjoy the moment. I keep thinking to myself as long as I’m trying my best, that’s all I can do really.”

As a youngster, Maisie was always encouraged to learn to swim by her family but grew a love for the sport from the feeling of being in the water and how it supported her disability.

“My family were very swimming orientated. My mum and her brother swam, and my granddad was involved with our local county swimming association.

“So when me and my two sisters came along, it was inevitable really that we were going to start swimming at some point.

“I did swimming lessons and for me they were amazing, because of my disability I struggled quite a lot on land.

“Being in the pool, it was quite freeing and just amazing for me so that’s why I kept swimming. I passed all the learn to swim programs and then London 2012 came along.

“Obviously, I was only 10 years old back then so it was just amazing to look up to the likes of Ellie (Simmonds) and loads of other amazing athletes on the team back then.

“I was just so inspired, and I realised what the Paralympic Games were and what I could potentially achieve. And that was definitely kind of the turning point for me to kind of get to where I am today.”

She’s gone onto emulate Simmonds, by taking the 200m individual medley gold from her in Tokyo to make it three golds in a row for Paralympics GB in the event.

And heading into Paris as a defending champion as well as being at a Games in front of spectators for the first time brings a whole new experience for the Northampton Swimming Club star.

“I’m really excited. I think for me, it will be kind of like a first games in a sense with that type of environment of it.

“As much as Tokyo was really amazing for me, there were still restrictions on whether you can go and interact with different athletes, go into the shops, and see what really they put on. So I think this will be whole experience will be new for me, which is really exciting.

“And it kind of takes my mind off the racing part because there’s still other things to look forward to instead of just the racing.

“In Tokyo, I was already world champion, European champion, but there was still that Paralympic gold that I hadn’t got yet.

“So I was still kind of new to the whole experience. Whereas now going in with two gold medals already, I’m kind of a little bit more nervous to try and defend them.

“But then at the same time I’m kind of thinking to myself, well, you’ve already achieved those things and they’re amazing achievements as it is. So try and relax as much as possible and just enjoy the moment because you never know how long this will last.”

A career both in and away from the pool

Since her success in Japan, Maisie has been training to become a teacher at Northampton University alongside her swimming.

She’s recently completed the course and is looking forward to inspire the next generation both in the pool and in the classroom.

“I think I was a bit naive, to be honest,” she joked.

“I applied for it during Covid and then I started when we got back from Tokyo.

“I thought, ‘oh, it’ll be fine, it won’t be that hard.’ But it’s been really, really tough but at the same time, it’s been amazing for me to have that outlet where I can go in the day and not think about swimming.

“I can make new friends who don’t know much about para swimming what I have to do daily. So it’s nice to be able to be surrounded by new people and when I’m on placement and going into classrooms, it’s lovely to inspire the children and make them aware of Para sport and disability.

“So I’m a fully qualified teacher now. I’m not going into teaching straight away, I’m going to just see what the future holds. But definitely one day I’ll be in the classroom teaching a group of children.”

Since finishing her degree she’s been able to turn all her attention to the Games in Paris where she’s been training alongside fellow Northampton swimmers and Paralympics GB team members Bruce Dee and twins Scarlett and Eliza Humphrey.

“From, I’d say, April/May onwards, I’ve had just time just to focus on swimming, which has been great for me.

“The past three weeks, we raced in Sheffield (at the Aquatics GB Summer Championships) then we had three weeks at home to train. There’s been four of us in total and I said to them last week ‘without you guys, I don’t know what I’d be able to do’ because they’ve been amazing.

“To train alongside Bruce Dee, who’s got the same classification as me. Definitely competitive some days, and I think that’s definitely what has spurred me on.

“And then I’ve had Scarlett and Eliza who are really inspirational young ladies, and they’re amazing to talk to. They’re like my best friends. The friendship we’ve grown over the last three years has been really, really special.

“So I’m glad I’ve had them, and then to be in this environment with them as well is really nice. It’s kind of like a comfort blanket as well because you train with those people every day at home. So it’s nice to have those people with you as well.”

Maisie will be looking to defend both her titles as well as swimming in the Women’s S6 400m Freestyle in Paris where she’ll be looking to add more celebrations ahead of her graduation in November.

You can watch her and the rest of the team in action in the pool from Thursday 29 August to Saturday 7 September.