Russell claims world record for ParalympicsGB

Hannah Russell dominated the Women’s S12 100m Backstroke final on day seven of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The triple Paralympic medallist from 2012 broke her own world record in the 100m Backstroke to claim the gold medal. She claimed the final gold medal of the evening, having watched Aaron Moores win the SB8 100m Breaststroke and Mikey Jones take the crown in the Men’s S7 400m Freestyle.

The Woking SC swimmer was off the blocks much faster than the rest of the field, and made the race hers after the first turn. She swam 1:06.06, touching nearly six seconds faster than her Ukranian rival, Yaryna Matlo.

Russell said: “That felt really fast, I was really happy to get out. It was an amazing crowd and to get a world record is amazing.

“I’ve been training for four hard years and I wanted to execute the perfect race so to do it here is fantastic.

“This week I’ve been up in the stands watching all my teammates swim, it’s been incredible seeing all the medals and PBs so I couldn’t wait to get in the water.

“I’ve always dreamed about standing on top of the podium, I’ve got lots of family here supporting me so it’s amazing.”

Firth takes third medal of Rio 2016

Bethany Firth put in a great performance in the Women’s SB14 100m Breaststroke. The ParalympicsGB swimmer already has two gold medals, having won both the 200m Freestyle and the 100m Backstroke.

She was challenging the fastest qualifier, Michelle Alonso Morales of Spain, from the very start. The Newcastle Swim Team athlete managed to keep pace for much of the race. Both swimmers were a good 15m ahead of the rest of the field.

Firth just couldn’t get past her Spanish rival, and touched for silver with 1:12.89.

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