Three Paralympic titles, two world records, a Paralympic record and five medals in total made for one of the greatest hours in the history of any ParalympicsGB swimming team on an enthralling Saturday night in Paris.
Stephen Clegg (Men's S12 100m Backstroke), Will Ellard (Men's S14 200m Freestyle) and Alice Tai (Women's S8 100m Backstroke) delivered a hat-trick of utterly dominant gold medals in quick succession, Clegg and Ellard doing so in new world record times, while Tai's mark in her event was a new Paralympic record.
Among those sensational moments, the Women's S14 200m Freestyle served up a GB podium double, as Poppy Maskill claimed silver to follow her S14 100m Butterfly title from Thursday and Louise Fiddes touched for bronze in the same race.
All in all, it made for an unforgettable evening for all involved at La Defense Arena, with the British team now already on seven gold medals after only three days - a single gold off their tally of eight from Tokyo 2020. There was also time for 13-year-old Iona Winnifrith - the youngest athlete for ParalympicsGB in Paris - to clock a new European record on the way to fourth in the Women's SM7 200m Individual Medley too.
The session began with an emotional maiden Paralympic title for Clegg, who claimed three medals three years ago in Tokyo but was unable to make the top step of the podium.
At the first time of asking this time around, he was in no mood for anything other than gold in the final of the Men's S12 100m Backstroke, taking things out hard to lead long-time rival Raman Salei of Azerbaijan by half-a-second at the turn. Strong underwaters saw him move further clear, and an impressive stroke rate took him away at distance to the wall, as he claimed gold by more than 1.5s and dipped inside the world record, touching in 59.02.
"[The gold] has eluded me for quite a long time - it's just so, so gratifying to get that monkey off the back and be able to just relax now into the rest of the week. Growing up, I didn't ever think that I'd become a Paralympic champion and a lot of people didn't think that was possible for me - so it's nice to finally have it. Now I can really nail it into the rest of the week, and with a bit of luck in my favour and the right demonstration of the work I've done, I can get a couple more medals around my neck," he said.
"It's very special having family here. I got to speak to my sister [Paralympic champion athlete Libby Clegg] very briefly on Channel 4 after the race, I was a bit lost for words because there are so many emotions going through my brain right now. She's a legend of the sport, a lot of people know who I am just because of her - so to be able to put myself on the same level as her is an incredible thing for me. My mum is up in the crowd today, which is great, I'm so glad she got to see that."
Within a few minutes of Clegg's triumph, Ellard was following up in arguably even more emphatic fashion in his favoured S14 200m Freestyle event.
The Paralympic debutant - a silver medallist in the 100m Butterfly on the opening night - went in as the fastest seed and joint world record holder. But that best mark would be shattered at the end of four stunning laps of freestyle swimming, Will using the added impetus of Canada's Nicholas Bennett alongside him in what was a brilliant contest for 150m.
![Will Ellard flex S14 200m Freestyle GOLD Paris 2024](https://www.aquaticsgb.com/media/images/GettyImages-2169609378.width-800.jpg)
He was only 0.5s clear of Bennett at the final turn, before unleashing a closing 50m that was nearly two seconds faster than his rival, surging away to claim a maiden Paralympic gold and resetting the world record by more than one second, at a mark of 1:51.30.
"That feels amazing. Going into the 100m Butterfly on Thursday, I knew I'd use it to give me confidence, but coming second gave me a fire for today too. Coming into this one and that last 50m, I knew I had to give it my all because if not, I'd have a lot of big regrets afterwards," said St Felix Swimming Club youngster, aged 18.
"I've done that for my family, everyone who has supported me over the years, thousands of people. I've got my mum, dad, everyone here, friends and family, I think I've got 30 or 35 people here in total.
"It hurt a lot more than when I equalled Reece Dunn's world record in April! I touched the wall and thought the clock said 1:53.3 because it didn't say 'world record' next to it for some reason - and then when it popped up on the board as world record, I was like, 'oh, wow!'"
The third and final title on this golden Saturday evening came courtesy of Alice Tai, eight years on from her first as part of the Women's 34pt 4x100m Medley Relay in Rio, three after she had to miss the Tokyo Games with injury and two-and-a-half on from having her right leg amputated below the knee.
Her triumph in the Women's S8 100m Backstroke final was another comprehensive one, moving further clear of the field with every stroke of a technically brilliant race to ultimately win in a Paralympic record time of 1:09.06, nearly six seconds ahead of Viktoriaa Ishchiulova in second.
"I cannot describe the feeling, the journey I've had and to be here now, I am so proud of myself and I'm so happy my family could be here. My nan is watching from home, she's by herself, my grandad sadly passed away this year but I know he was screaming from wherever he is. I hope I've made them proud, but also, I'm happy in the process. I feel like all my words are a bit muddled right now!" she said afterwards.
![Alice Tai S8 100m Backstroke GOLD podium shot Paris 2024](https://www.aquaticsgb.com/media/images/GettyImages-2168829175.width-800.jpg)
"The biggest thing about being a Paralympian and having a platform to advocate for disability and that it's not a scary thing, that's really special. I've had so many messages off the back of the documentary [Amputating Alice] and performances in general where I've been in the public eye, people with similar disabilities messaging me saying they now feel confident to be themselves, go out in public in shorts, or parents with children with similar disabilities who feel like they're not so scared about the future of their child.
"That is something that is becoming more and more common. We saw it with Ellie Simmonds, she has broken stigma for her impairment, and I really want to do the same with mine. I feel as though just being here is doing that, and so as well as being part of myself and in my performance, I am so privileged to be in a position where I can advocate like that and allow other people to be themselves and live their full lives, because finding that ability to feel comfortable in your own body is incredible."
There were two GB athletes on the podium after the Women's S14 200m Freestyle, as Poppy Maskill took silver and Louise Fiddes the bronze.
Behind eventual champion Valeriaa Shabalina, Maskill and Fiddes never fell out of the medal positions, briefly switching positions over the second length before Maskill moved into silver after the halfway turn and held that placing well as her superb debut Paralympics continues. Fiddes, meanwhile, added to her tally of two medals from Tokyo as she finished things well down the final 50m to take bronze, with compatriot Olivia Newman-Baronius - like Maskill, another first-time Paralympian - following right on in fourth.
"It is just incredible. All the years I've been swimming and I've not been on my PBs, it's been really hard to swim a bit slow. I went just outside my PB today, so honestly, it means absolutely everything, especially with my family here. It gives you so much confidence [racing alongside teammates]. You know that we're a team at the end of the day, and it was lovely being in the call room with them, hyping each other up before the race," said Fiddes.
Later in the evening, there was an amazing, European-record-breaking swim by 13-year-old Iona Winnifrith to place fourth in the Women's SM7 200m Individual Medley. A pacey leg of breaststroke moved her from eighth to fourth in the space of one lap, and she held firm in a strong anchor of freestyle to miss out on the medals by a single place, an outstanding achievement in her first event at this level.
"I'm really happy. I just wanted to do a PB - I didn't expect that. Of course fourth is a little disappointing, but I'm still really happy. This is just a warm-up event for me, so to do that time is really good!" she said.
"It's all been pretty cool! I've never swam in an arena this big and the atmosphere is crazy! I watched the Olympics so I had an idea of what the noise would be like and the arena, and it's all been pretty cool.
"Everyone has been coming back with their medals, and it's just made me even more confident. We've got such a great team, a big team - I'm really close with Maisie and some of the older ones. Three weeks away from home can be quite hard, but now we are like a family."
The final British involvement on day three came in the Women's S11 50m Freestyle final, as Scarlett Humphrey dropped good time from heat to final as she placed seventh, a day on from her first Paralympic final in the 400m event.