SWIMMERS CELEBRATE BEST EVER WORLD CUP
Great Britain had its most successful Visa Paralympic World
Cup yet in the pool with an impressive haul of seven gold
medals, six silvers and five bronzes.
Great Britain kicked off a terrific session at the Manchester
Aquatics Centre with two clean sweeps of medals this afternoon
(Saturday).
Sascha Kindred (Leominster), Matthew Whorwood (Newquay Cormorants)
and Gareth Duke (Swansea) won all three medals in the men's
SM6 200m Individual Medley. And minutes later team-mates Natalie
Jones (Colchester Phoenix), Nyree Lewis (Leominster) and Liz
Johnson (Swansea) repeated the feat in the women's event.
Kindred was always going to be favourite in the men's race.
The 29-year-old Leominster Kingfisher has the remarkable record
of not having lost an SM6 200m individual medley race since
before the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.
He went out fast and led from start to finish, coming home
in 2:47.71 to secure Britain's first swimming medal of the
2007 Visa Paralympic World Cup.
Whorwood touched second in 2:58.20 with Duke taking bronze
in 2:58.85 in an exact repeat of the placings at last year's
World Championships in South Africa.
A delighted Kindred said: "I'm unbeaten in that event
since Sydney. There are a lot of youngsters coming through
into the GB squad - half this team are under 21, so at 29
I'm one of the oldest. But I'm still fit and still swimming
well.
"It's a shame we've not got another major championships
this year but that means this is a key event for us, and with
us and the girls both getting gold, silver and bronze - shows
we are up for it."
In the next race reigning world and Paralympic champion Natalie
Jones won Britain's second gold medal of the day as she led
home another impressive clean sweep.
The 22-year-old Colchester Phoenix swimmer won a terrific
race in 3:18.98, with Lewis taking silver in 3:22.73 in a
repeat of the first two placings at the Athens 2004 Paralympic
Games. Liz Johnson took bronze in a personal best of 3:25.31.
"I'm really pleased with the time and result,"
said Jones. "I've been working quite hard in training
and it's probably the third fastest time I've ever done. I
could see Liz and Nyree ahead of me at the last turn, but
knew I could make it up in the last length.
"This was my only final today so that made me even more
determined to go out and win it."
Lewis added: "It was a close race and it's always a great
atmosphere when you're all chasing each other."
Johnson said: "I got a PB in that, which I'm really
pleased with because I'm doing my university finals at the
moment, so training hasn't been a priority for me recently."
David Roberts won Britain's third gold of the afternoon in
the S7 50m Freestyle sprint. He came home in 29.18 seconds.
Fellow Brit Matt Walker was disqualified for a false start,
but 15-year-old Jonathan Fox took advantage of his absence
to seize bronze in 31.54. Earlier David Roberts took bronze
in the men's multi-disability 100m Freestyle. He came home
in 1:03.03.
Roberts said he was disappointed he missed the opportunity
to race against Walker over 50m. "It was a bit of a hollow
victory really because it would have been good to have raced
against Matt.
"I knew it would be either me or Matt that would win,
so with him not racing I had to go out there and win it. I
didn't see that he wasn't there. I could sense that he wasn't
next to me but didn't realise he wasn't there until I finished
the race.
"It was a good time though - for where we are in the
Paralympic cycle it's a good result so I'm pleased with that."
Fran Williamson (Colchester Phoenix) won Britain's fourth
gold. She made a strong start in the S3 50m Backstroke and
never slackened off, winning in 1:06.89.
She said: "I wasn't expecting to do so well so I'm pleased.
I've had a shoulder injury and been out for two months - it's
still niggling a bit but I'm almost there.
"All my races in Durban [at the world championships]
were PBs but that was one of my fastest times."
Gareth Duke won his second medal of the day, leading from
the start to win the SB6 100m Breaststroke. He was pushed
hard by Russia's Alexey Fomenkov, but stretched away in the
last 25m to makes sure of gold in 1:29.39. Whorwood finished
fourth in 1:38.58.
Nyree Lewis confirmed the event as the most successful Visa
Paralympic World Cup yet for Britain's swimmers when she won
GB's sixth gold of the day, taking the S6 100m Backstroke
gold in 1.30.32.
Matt Walker put his earlier disappointment behind him to
win Great Britain's seventh gold in the pool. He won the penultimate
event of the day - the men's multi-disability 50m freestyle
in 28.87 seconds.
Claire Cashmore produced a fine finish to take silver in
the S9 100m Freestyle behind powerful South African Natalie
Du Toit. Cashmore snatched silver from British team-mate Louise
Watkin, taking 2/100ths of a second off the British record,
setting a new benchmark of 1:07.53 in the process. Watkin
won a bronze in 1:07.78.
Cashmore said of her British record: "I wasn't expecting
that at all. My training is so hard at the moment and I haven't
been swimming that well so far this year, so that was a real
boost."
Earlier Watkin finished eighth in the women's multi-disability
100m Freestyle. South Africa's Natalie Du Toit took gold.
James Crisp was just edged out by the USA's Jarrett Perry
in the men's S9 100m Backstroke. The pair both reached the
halfway mark in 31.71 seconds, but in a fantastic finish,
the current world record holder just outpaced the former world
record holder in the final 30m. Perry touched in 1:04.33,
with Crisp having to settle for silver in 1:04.92. Britain's
David Hill came sixth in 1:09.28.
Anthony Stephens won a hard-fought silver in the S5 100m
Freestyle. Spain's Sebastian Rodriguez went out hard from
the start and led to the finish, touching in 1:15.10. Stephens
was second at the halfway mark but was then overhauled by
Ukraine's Dmytro Kryzhanovskyy. But Stephens battled back
in the last 10m to take silver in 1:17.80.
Rachael Latham added silver behind Jessica Long of the USA
in the S8 100m Butterfly, finishing in 1:20.62.
Kenny Cairns just missed out on the medals in the S3 100m
Freestyle in fourth in 2:01.84.
Nineteen-year-old Emma Cattle (Luton) came sixth in the S10
100m Backstroke in 1:19.42.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the Visa Paralympic World Cup action moves
to the athletics track at the Manchester Regional Arena.
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