Stephen Clegg was among the outstanding British swimmers in the inaugural Lebara's Race The World finals, as 10 different athletes were winners across 16 multi-classification events on Wednesday.
Clegg produced a pair of brilliant performances to secure the Men's 50m and 100m Butterfly double in the virtual contest, with the results revealed in a livestream video across British Swimming's YouTube and Facebook channels.
Maisie Summers-Newton also enjoyed 50m success in the Women's Breaststroke category, while the longer events brought victories for Scott Quin - in the Men's 100m Breaststroke - and Toni Shaw, who rounded out the competition with an impressive swim in the Women's 100m Butterfly.
Canada's Nicolas-Guy Turbide picked up a hat-trick of wins (Men's 50m Freestyle, 50m Backstroke and 100m Backstroke), with compatriot Aurelie Rivard winning both of the Women's Freestyle races. Roisin Ni Riain of Ireland (Women's 50m and 100m Backstroke) and Japanese competitor Keiichi Kimura (Men's 50m Breaststroke) also caught the eye across the 50-minute production, which was called throughout by expert para-swimming commentators Alan March and Paul Noble.
Athletes, staff and fans who tuned in will have been struck by the quality of competition from the very start of the opening race.
With each athlete involved having been invited to submit their finals swim videos after qualifying in the top eight from November's heats, every contest was testament to the class and adaptability of those competing, following months of pool closures, limited training access and virtual workouts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Edinburgh University's Clegg was a stunning example of that resilience. The S12 swimmer recorded the first of his two wins in the Men's 50m Butterfly event in emphatic fashion, finishing strongly and touching in a time of 25.03, earning him 1111 points in the Lebara's Race The World points system.
That was the highest single tally across the entire finals - and he was not far off repeating that feat in the 100m event, enjoying an intriguing battle with Japan's Kimura - an S11 athlete - throughout their four virtual lengths.
Ultimately, Clegg won out by 1033 points to 1009. The British Paralympian - who won an S12 100m Butterfly silver medal at last year's World Para-Swimming Championships over long course - was so dominant in his displays that he also won several of the cash prizes on offer, as the top overall Men's 50m and 100m performer (based on individual points tallies across all four strokes) and the top British man in both as well.
City of Manchester Aquatics star Hannah Russell and Aberdeen's Shaw won those British plaudits on the women's side, in the 50m and 100m respectively.
S9 competitor Shaw earned top-three finishes in each of her events. On top of winning the Women's 100m Butterfly, the 17-year-old - a six-time medallist at the London World Championships 15 months ago - was second behind Rivard (S10) in the 50m Freestyle, before finishing third in the 100m category, after Rivard and British teammate Grace Harvey (S6).
In the breaststroke categories, Summers-Newton (S6) put in a strong showing to win an all-British Women's 50m final, before Kimura (SB11) showed what he will hope to do on home soil in next summer's rescheduled Paralympic Games by beating Conner Morrison and Warrender Baths' man Quin (both SB14) in the Men's 50m.
Quin and Morrison served up impressive virtual responses in the 100m showdown, with both racking up in excess of 900 Race The World points. Quin just got the better of his compatriot, 958 to Morrison's 908 due to a 1.16-second margin of victory.
The Women's 100m Breaststroke saw a dramatic win for Sophia Herzog (SB6) of the USA, a mere three points ahead of Hatfield's Louise Fiddes (SB14) in one of the closest results of the entire competition.
With more instalments of the Lebara's Race The World series set to come in 2021, all of the athletes involved in these historic finals - as well as those who swam in the heats and those who were unable to due to ongoing restrictions - will soon have more chances to test themselves against rivals from across the globe, as this event looks to keep the para-swimming community connected in a time of limited or no in-venue competition.
That means further opportunities to impress for youngsters like world medallist Ellie Challis - who finished second in the Women's 100m Butterfly - Alexander Hobbs of Mount Kelly and Wycombe District's Katie Crowhurst, all who got their names on the Top British Juniors list.
You can watch back every second of racing with the full Lebara's Race The World finals video HERE.
For the full list of event winners and to see those who took home the prizes, see below.
EVENT WINNERS
Women's 50m Freestyle - Aurelie Rivard
Men's 50m Freestyle - Nicolas-Guy Turbide
Women's 50m Backstroke - Roisin Ni Riain
Men's 50m Backstroke - Nicolas-Guy Turbide
Women's 50m Breaststroke - Maisie Summers-Newton
Men's 50m Breaststroke - Keiichi Kimura
Women's 50m Butterfly - Nicole Turner
Men's 50m Butterfly - Stephen Clegg
Men's 100m Freestyle - Jacek Czech
Women's 100m Freestyle - Aurelie Rivard
Men's 100m Backstroke - Nicolas-Guy Turbide
Women's 100m Backstroke - Roisin Ni Riain
Men's 100m Breaststroke - Scott Quin
Women's 100m Breaststroke - Sophia Herzog
Men's 100m Butterfly - Stephen Clegg
Women's 100m Butterfly - Toni Shaw
PRIZE WINNERS
Men's 50m
1st - Stephen Clegg (1111 pts for 50m Butterfly)
2nd - Nicolas-Guy Turbide (1083 pts for 50m Backstroke)
3rd - Keiichi Kimura (1082 pts for 50m Breaststroke)
Women's 50m
1st - Roisin Ni Riain (1019 pts for 50m Backstroke)
2nd - Aurelie Rivard (1016 pts for 50m Freestyle)
3rd - Hannah Russell (987 pts for 50m Backstroke)
Men's 100m
1st - Stephen Clegg (1033 pts for 100m Butterfly)
2nd - Keiichi Kimura (1009 pts for 100m Butterfly)
3rd - Nicolas-Guy Turbide (997 pts for 100m Backstroke)
Women's 100m
1st - Aurelie Rivard (1022 pts for 100m Freestyle)
2nd - Toni Shaw (1001 pts for 100m Butterfly)
3rd - Sophia Herzog (995 pts for 100m Breaststroke)
Top British Athlete
Men's 50m - Stephen Clegg (1111 pts for 50m Butterfly)
Women's 50m - Hannah Russell (987 pts for 50m Backstroke)
Men's 100m - Stephen Clegg (1033 pts for 100m Butterfly)
Women's 100m - Toni Shaw (1001 pts for 100m Butterfly)
Top British Junior (aged 16 or under as of 31st December 2020)
Men's 50m - Alexander Hobbs (580 pts for 50m Backstroke)
Women's 50m - Katie Crowhurst (685 pts for 50m Backstroke
Men's 100m - Alexander Hobbs (491 pts for 100m Backstroke)
Women's 100m - Ellie Challis (939 pts for 100m Butterfly)
* The top three swimmers in the overall Men's 50m, Women's 50m, Men's 100m and Women's 100m categories win £100, £50 and £25 for first, second and third respectively.
The top British athlete in each of those four categories wins £50 and an Enchanted House Beds mattress topper, while the top British junior in each category wins £50. Thanks to Lebara for donating the prize money.