Robinson lowers record ahead of international debut

“I’m really happy with how I’ve swam and I can’t really describe it as I don’t think what I have achieved has really sunk in yet.”

Great Britain’s Ellie Robinson lowered the 50m butterfly S6 British record twice on the third day of competition at the British Para-Swimming International Meet in Glasgow, Great Britain, on Monday (25 April).

Robinson impressed in the heats to set a time of 36.70 which was under the consideration time for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

In tonight’s finals she returned to the water and lowered her time again to 36.34 and took the gold medal with a score of 976.

“I’ve really enjoyed today,” Robinson said. “I’m really happy with how I’ve swam and I can’t really describe it as I don’t think what I have achieved has really sunk in yet.

“I have got European Championships on the first week of May which I am really looking forward to because it’s my first competition representing Great Britain.”

A series of other British swimmers also put in good performances.

S7 swimmer Susie Rodgers finished behind Robinson with a time of 36.20 which also puts her forward for consideration for the Games this summer.

European champion Andrew Mullen swam to a time of 36.60 in the final of the 50m butterfly to also claim a Rio 2016 Paralympic Games qualification time. He secured a total of 800 points in his S5 classification to win the gold medal.

“It was a decent swim tonight,” Mullen said. “It was only four one hundredths off my best ever so I’m pleased with that. I would have liked to have gone maybe slightly quicker but I’m really looking forward to Europeans in ten days and ten more days of a bit of rest and hopefully I’ll be a bit more twitchy.

“This week I have two more events. I have the 200m free tomorrow [Wednesday] and the 50m free the next day so I’m looking forward to them. I had a good 100m free so that sets me up well for the 200 tomorrow.”

Five-time Paralympian Sascha Kindred (S6) took the silver with a score of 725 after touching in 33.29 with Alexander Goodman (S7) taking bronze in 36.14 and 543 points.

James Clegg swam to gold in the 100m butterfly after touching in a time of 1:00.35 and getting a total of 835. James Hollis scored 822 points after clocking 59.76. Bronze went to Kahoru Harazawa with a time of 59.84 and a score of 819.

National Performance Centre swimmer Claire Cashmore (S9) took the gold medal in the women’s 100m butterfly with a total of 794 after reaching the wall in 1:12.07. She was joined on the podium by Amy Marren (S9) and Alice Tai (S10). Marren finished in a time of 1:13.25 with a score of 756 and Tai scored 732 with a time of 1:10.69.