National records close British Para-Swimming International Meet

Hannah Russell and Matt Wylie broke British records in the 50m freestyle on Wednesday (27 April), the last day of action at the British Para-Swimming International Meet 2016 in Glasgow.

Russell (S12) secured the first gold medal of the night with another strong swim that saw her finish in a new British record time of 27.01 to secure 988 points.

Russell knocked the British record down to 27.22 in the heats but went even faster in the final.

“That feels absolutely amazing,” Russell said. “I went into that having equalled my British record in the heats and I wanted to come here in the final and prove myself.

“The 50 has always been one of my main events and so to come here and do that swim has really given me a lot of confidence.”

Steph Slater (S8) took the silver medal with 928 points in a time of 30.89, which puts her into consideration for the Paralympic Games this summer. Bronze went to Ellie Robinson (S6) who touched in 35.63 with 880 points.

Wylie starred in the men’s 50m freestyle knocking more time off the S9 British record he set in the morning’s heats.

Wylie (S9) hit the qualification standard in the heats when he set 25.96 and came back for the finals and touched in 25.69.

“I could not be happier really,” Wylie said. “It would mean the world to me to go to Rio. It’s what gets you out of bed in the morning and what drives you in a hard set. It’s just everything really.

“London 2012 really pushed me on. I was a part of an inspiration group who got to go in the village and watch some of the sport and that was a great experience that really motivated me.”

Ryan Crouch (S9) took silver with 860 points and also hit the qualification time after touching in 26.43. He touched in 26.37 in the heats. Josef Craig also hit the qualification time when he won bronze with a score of 800 after touching in 27.27.

Bethany Firth (SM14) won the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:21.93 and grabbed gold with a total of 987.

She was pushed all the way by fellow SM14 swimmer and bronze medallist Jessica-Jane Applegate, who finished in 2:30.52 with a score of 828.

Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds (SM6) won silver after touching the wall in 3:04.13 and securing score of 934.

Sascha Kindred (SM6) took the gold medal in the 200m individual medley after a tough race that saw him finish in a time of 2:42.88.

Silver went to Ollie Hynd (SM8n) with a time of 2:26.74 and scored 886 and Kahoru Harazawa won bronze with a time of 2:17.44 and a score of 846.

National Performance Director Chris Furber said: “I’m absolutely delighted with our performances. We made this meet deliberately difficult for the guys. We wanted to create a strong platform to move on to Rio and to have 25 swimmers coming here and meeting the qualification standard is a brilliant performance from the team and goes to show we’re moving in the right direction.”

Many British swimmers will now head to Funchal, Portugal, for the 2016 IPC Swimming European Open Championships which open on Saturday 30 April.