Double Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds broke her own world record in the SM6 200m Individual Medley at the IPC Swimming European Championships.
The British Gas GBR Para-Swimming Team concluded the fourth day of competition with four gold, three silver and two bronze medals.
Simmonds was behind at the first turn but showed her skill to pull the race back in the breaststroke.
"I have trained really hard on my IM and it’s what I have been working on"
- Ellie Simmonds
Her speed in the final 50m showed and she powered home through the freestyle to lower her world record and take the gold medal in a time of 3:04.07.
“Every race I swim means a lot to me,” Simmonds said. “It was a tough race tonight but to go a world record I am over the moon.
“I am so pleased. On the backstroke I could see the Ukrainian that beat me yesterday and I thought oh my gosh I have to give myself such a lead because I knew she had a good back end. But I just put my head down and I am so happy it was a world record.
“I have trained really hard on my IM and it’s what I have been working on. I know all of my world record splits off by heart and I knew that I was under the world record on the fly so I just kept going for it.”
She was followed by Yelyzaveta Mereshko (Ukraine) in 3:09.00 and Anastasia Diodorova (Russia) in 3:20.49.
Sascha Kindred impressed in the men’s SM6 200m Individual Medley by setting a new European record and taking his second gold of the Championships.
"I can't ask for much more than coming away with two golds and a silver and a PB in my main event at 36"
- Sascha Kindred
Kindred dominated his race by leading from the start and winning his race by 18 seconds, breaking his own European record by one second as he touched in 2:40.82.
“That performance was special,” Kindred said. “I came here to try and do the best I could. I have had injuries in the past but I’m coming away with two golds and a silver and a PB in my main event at 36 I can’t ask for much more.”
Silver went to Iaroslav Semenenko (Ukraine) in 2:58.25 and bronze was won by Yoav Valinsky (Israel) in 3:01.76.
Claire Cashmore claimed her first individual gold medal at a long course competition with joint victory in the SB8 100m Breaststroke.
Cashmore showed her strength to come back through the final 50m and touched the wall in 1:20.93 - the same time as Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina (Russia).
“I don’t think I can put this into words,” Cashmore said. “I am so excited. I just turned and looked to the board and thought she had won it but then I saw and I had won too. It’s amazing. I can’t believe it. I really can’t.
“I could see her down on the first length and she was quite a bit ahead. But from the beginning I wanted to do my own race. So many times I have been distracted by her and this time I stuck to my race plan and it worked.”
Paulina Wozniak (Poland) won the bronze in 1:24.87.
Following on from his victory in the S5 50m Butterfly yesterday, Andrew Mullen secured his second gold medal in the SM5 200m Individual Medley.
"I've waited three years for one gold and to have two in 24 hours is pretty nice"
- Andrew Mullen
Mullen went out hard and led from the start of the race and pushed himself further into the lead with 50m to go before taking gold in a personal best time of 3:06.78.
“I was hoping to do pretty well here,” Mullen said. “Training has been going well and I’ve been working pretty hard. I am really happy to have two golds after waiting three years for one and to have two in 24 hours is pretty nice.”
Antonios Tsapatakis took the silver in 3:19.28 and Roman Zhdanov won the bronze after finishing in 3:19.42.
Hannah Russell claimed the silver medal in the women’s S12 50m Freestyle in a new personal best time of 27.51 while Susie Rodgers won silver in the S7 100m Backstroke as she reached for the wall in a time of 1:30.24.
The third silver of the evening went to Rob Welbourn in the S10 400m Freestyle as he touched in 4:12.96.
In her first European Championships, Alice Tai won bronze in the S10 400m Freestyle in a time of 4:47.52 while multiple World medallist James Crisp scored his first medal of the competition with bronze in the SB8 100m Breaststroke in 1:16.14.