ROBERTS LOWERS WORLD RECORD TWICE
Paralympic champion David Roberts (Swansea Performance) lowered
the world record twice in the men's 400m Freestyle on the
first day of the British International Swimming Championships
(50m) 2008 in Sheffield.
Roberts claimed the world record in the S7 category in this
morning's heats with a time of 4:51.43 and went into the final
hungry for more success. He looked strong throughout the final
and turned within his new world record at the 300m mark.
The British champion touched in a time of 4:49.12 to lower
the world record twice throughout the first day of competition,
he claimed a total of 1049 points to claim his first gold
medal of the championships.
"I am really happy with the results today," Roberts
said. "I had already gone under the qualification time
but missed the world record so we came here and the race was
simple for me. We had a plan in place and that was to chase
Simon Miller.
"I have tried for eight years to claim that record and
to break it twice in the same day is just great for me. I
was so close to it last time and we went back and worked on
it knowing that I was swimming close to the time and it felt
really great out there today."
The men's 400m Freestyle also Sam Hynd (Nova Centurion) claim
his second long-course world record in the space of a month
as he continues to prove his true potential.
The European record holder looked promising as he entered
the water and looked like he was going to improve on his heat
swim as he turned within the world record for the S8 category
in the final 50m.
Hynd finished in 4:31.62 and secured his world record and
the silver medal with a total of 1019 points.
"I did not see that coming at all," Hynd said.
"I swam 4:35 this morning and it felt horrible but tonight
just felt fantastic. I could see my coach as I was swimming
and I knew I was going well by the way he was acting.
"I really didn't realise I was going that fast. I hadn't
tapered and I was in the middle of heavy training so that
was a great result."
The bronze medal went to City of Sheffield's James Crisp
in a time of 4:25.01 in the S9 category with a total of 973
points.
The men's 50m Butterfly saw Sascha Kindred (Leominster) and
Marple's Matt Walker battling it out for the spoils as they
looked to claim the number one spot.
It was Kindred that seemed to have the edge in the final
and took the lead from Walker in the final 25m and touched
first to claim the victory.
The Paralympic champion showed his experience as he touched
in a time of 32.59 to claim 989 points in the S6 classification.
"That was my best swim today," Kindred said. "I
think the 50m Butterfly will now be one of the main events
I will be targeting in Beijing. I claimed the European record
in the event 3 weeks ago and that time was just outside that
record.
"I got the right lane which put me next to Matt Walker
and I knew I could chase him and that I had enough left to
take him in the last 25m and it felt good."
Walker went on to claim a new European record in a time of
32.83 and a total of 868 points in the S7 category.
Finishing in third place was Greek athlete Nikolaos Tsotras
in a time of 37.49 with a total of 583 points in the S7 category.
Derventio's David Ellis swam impressively in the men's 200m
Individual Medley and claimed the British record in this morning's
heats.
Ellis swam just outside of the Paralympic qualification time
at the British Championships and went into this competition
knowing that it was all at stake.
He looked good in the heats as he touched in a time of 2:20.82
to claim both the British record and the vital qualification
time.
In this evening's final the Derventio swimmer took first
place and showed consistency as he swam inside the qualification
time in back to back events as he touched in a time of 2:21.68.
He took the top spot with a total of 958 points in the S13
classification.
"I am pretty pleased with my performances today,"
Ellis said. "I came here with the aim of gaining the
qualification time I just missed out on at the British Championships
and claiming a British record is definitely a bonus for me.
"To have come here and swim under the qualification
time twice has been great for me, I haven't really tapered
for this competition so this result gives me a lot of confidence."
The second spot went to Daniel Clausner from Germany in a
time of 2:22.04 and a total of 950 points in the S13 category.
Claiming the third place was Daniel Pepper (Stockport Metro)
with a time of 2:21.53 in the S14 classification.
Swansea Performance swimmer Eleanor Simmonds showed her potential
as she swam an excellent race to claim the gold medal in the
women's 400m Freestyle.
The young swimmer showed no signs of nerves as she took to
the blocks and performed strongly to touch in a time of 5:54.66,
she claimed a total of 954 points in the S6 classification
to take the top spot.
"That felt really good," Simmonds said. "I
swam really well today even though I haven't tapered for this
competition. My focus was on the British Championships a couple
of weeks ago where I got the qualification time and so coming
here is just a bonus for me."
Silver was taken by Leominster's Nyree Lewis who finished
in a time of 5:57.17 in the S6 category to claim a total 934
points.
The bronze medal went to City of Salford swimmer Heather
Frederiksen in the S8 category in a time of 5:04.23.
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