‘It was pretty cool’ ... Poppy sets world record on way to Paralympic gold

Teenager Poppy Maskill was crowned Paralympic champion after setting a new world record time and admitted: “It was pretty cool.”

The 19-year-old put on a sensational performance in the Women’s 100m Butterfly S14 to win ParalympicGB’s first gold medal of Paris 2024.

Paralympic debutant Maskill led from start to finish as she clocked 1:03.00 to knock 0.33 off the previous world record, which was jointly held by her Brtitish team-mate Olivia Newman-Baronius.

She had qualified fastest from the morning’s heats but was 0.66 seconds quicker in the final.

Maskill never looked like being beaten after a flying first 50m that saw the field trailing in her wake.

Trying my hardest

When asked if she could believe that she would win a Paralympic gold medal in a time like that, Maskill said: “No.

“I was just trying my hardest to see what happens.

“It was pretty cool – it’s just unreal.”

Newman-Baronius was agonisingly just outside the medals as she took fourth place in a time of 1:04.59 – 0.71 seconds faster than her heat swim.

She was only 0.19 adrift of the Neutral Paralympic Athlete Valeriia Shablina, who took the bronze.

Louise Fiddes finished in sixth spot in  1:06.91 – a second faster than her qualification time.