Paralympics 2012: Swimmers post impressive results

Jonathan Fox set a new world record and won gold medal in S7 100m backstroke...

12:16 02 September 2012

Swimmers at Paralympics 2012 didn’t disappoint spectators as most of them delivered nothing but impressive performances in the pool. Jonathan Fox was the first one to bag gold medal in the S7 100 backstroke. The 21-year-old swimmer, who has cerebral palsy, set a world record with his time of 1 minute and 10.46 seconds.

 

He said: "When I turned at 50 metres I was feeling good but the last 25 metres my legs blew up. You are always thinking in the back of your mind 'I can see the guy in lane five coming back' and you are dying inside and you just want to finish it." 

 

On the other hand, GB’s Nyree Kindred won silver in the S6 100m backstroke. This was particularly impressive performance given that the athlete gave birth 15 months before the Paralympics. Her time of 1:26:23 was her personal best. The first time mother who also has cerebral palsy couldn’t be happier. She said: "I'm extremely happy. A personal best and a silver medal, I can't ask for much more than that." 

 

"Ella was here today in the crowd today. She's ready to cheer on daddy [Sasha Kindred] later on in the week." 

 

The other swimmer who bagged silver medal and debuted personal best was sixteen-year-old Hannah Russell. Her time was 4:38:60 in the S12 400m freestyle final. She was elated to say: "This is a dream come true for me and silver is a bonus.”