Russell and Firth swim to new world records

“I wanted to swim quicker than my PB [personal best] or to deliver a PB but to be quite honest I felt strong in my warm up so I was hoping for a performance like that and to have Bethany beside me was great. We broke the world record together.”

Great Britain’s Bethany Firth and Hannah Russell lowered the world records in their respective classes in the 100m backstroke on Saturday (28 March) on the penultimate day of the British Para-Swimming International Meet in Glasgow, Great Britain.

Multiple 2013 Worlds medallist Russell broke her own S12 world record by 1.5 seconds as she touched in at 1:06.15, swimming faster than the qualification time for July’s 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships, which take place in the same pool.

Russell kept close to Firth throughout and secured gold with 1086 points.

“To go in and deliver a half second PB from this morning I was really happy and I was a bit shocked,” Russell said. “I was really pleased that everything came together today.

“Working with my coach Rob Greenwood we’ve managed to nail everything in the final when it mattered most. It’s been perfecting the little things in that race. I know I have the speed but it’s about getting it all right.

“I wanted to swim quicker than my PB [personal best] or to deliver a PB but to be quite honest I felt strong in my warm up so I was hoping for a performance like that and to have Bethany beside me was great. We broke the world record together.”

Firth (S14) secured a hat trick of world records by knocking two seconds off the previous standard. Firth looked strong throughout the race but was pushed on by Russell.

She touched in 1:04.70; a time that puts her in contention for Worlds selection and secured 1061 points to take silver.

“I’m really happy with all of my swims but I really don’t think that I would have been able to swim that if Hannah Russell hadn’t been beside me breaking her world record as well,” Firth said. “The backstroke is one that is special to my heart I really enjoy swimming it so I am so glad to have gone and done that there.

“I really wasn’t expecting that. It was a massive PB for me and I was feeling a bit sluggish this morning after all the races but my coach really picked me up and told me to just go for it and with Hannah swimming beside me it really helped.”

Bronze went to their teammates Chloe Davies (S14) with a total of 912 points, who touched in at 1:08.05 while Alice Tai (S10) swam to a time of 1:09.29 to make herself eligible for IPC Swimming World Championships selection.

Glasgow born European champion Andrew Mullen (S5) stormed to victory in the final of the men’s 50m butterfly, breaking the European record for a second time in one day after bringing the mark down in the heats, which puts him in contention for selection for his home World Championships.

Mullen recorded a time of 37.03 in the morning and then went on to shave a further 0.1 seconds off in the final with a time of 36.91, taking home the gold with 780 points.

“This morning was a big PB for me and to go faster was great,” Mullen said. “I managed to improve my finish and grab the extra tenth.

“I’m really glad to consistently PB. That was my aim coming in here and I wanted to go 36 point as well and I’m really happy to have done that.

“I was really happy with how I did at Euros so if I can go faster this summer and grab some of those medals I will be really pleased.”

The silver was claimed by British legend Sascha Kindred (S6) who touched in a time of 32.79 and 758 points, and bronze by Germany’s Tobias Pollap (S7, 33.37, 690 points).

Canada’s nine-time Paralympic champion Benoit Huot (1:02.01) won gold in the men's 100m backstroke with 906 points, ahead of Kindred’s teammate Ollie Hynd (S8) in 1:06.21 with a total of 875 points. Russian S14 swimmer Mikhail Kuliabin (1:03.36, 868 points) picked up bronze.

Great Britain’s James Crisp (S9) also swam a 1:04.79 in the event, which puts him into contention for selection for the IPC Swimming World Championships from 13-19 July.

Norway’s world and Paralympic champion Sarah Louise Rung (S5, 44.02, 779 points) won the women’s 50m butterfly ahead of another Brit, Eleanor Robinson (S6, 39.27, 774 points). Teammate Susannah Rodgers (S7) took home the bronze on the third day of action in Glasgow after touching in at 37.26 (747 points).

The Spanish duo of world champion Sarai Gascon (1:10.47, 849 points) and Nuria Soto (1:11.01, 830 points) claimed first and second in the women’s 100m butterfly. Great Britain’s Tully Kearney clocked a time of 1:11.05 to record a score of 829 to claim the bronze. The threesome all swim in the S9 classification, potentially setting up a great spectacle for Glasgow 2015.

The men’s 100m butterfly saw Italy’s S9 swimmer Federico Morlacchi (1:00.08, 958 points) take victory over Azerbaijan’s Dzmitry Salei (S12, 58.38, 923 points). Greece’s D Michalentzakis (1:02.15, 866 points), also an S9, sealed bronze.

Action concludes at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow on Sunday (29 March).

The 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships will feature around 650 athletes from 50 countries and will be the last major gathering of international swimmers ahead of Rio 2016. Tickets are available at Glasgow2015.com.

All records are subject to ratification by IPC Swimming.