The final night of competition in the Aquatics Centre was one to cherish for ParalympicsGB. Ollie Hynd became a three-times Paralympic champion after breaking the world record in the SM8 200m individual medley, Hannah Russell won her second gold in Rio and Ellie Robinson’s bronze in the S6 100m freestyle means that the 15-year-old has two medals to show for her stirring efforts in her debut Games.
Robinson, who won gold in the S6 50m butterfly last week, remains the leading teenager in the British swimming team, but her thunder was very nearly stolen by an athlete who turned 13 just over a month ago.
It was so very nearly a fairytale introduction to the Paralympics for Abby Kane, who set a Paralympic record of 1min 9.09sec in her S13 100m backstroke heat.
She led after the first length of the final, only for Ukraine’s Anna Stetsenko to pull clear in the final 50m. The 24-year-old broke Kane’s record in 1:8.30, finishing a second clear of the youngster. Australia’s Katja Dedekind took bronze.
Still, not every 13-year-old girl can say she is the owner of a silver medal. The youngest member of the squad – and the youngest British Paralympian since a 12-year-old Joanne Rout competed in Seoul 28 years ago – should be proud of herself. She lost to an athlete nearly twice her age.
It was during a family holiday to Australia when Kane, who has Stargardt disease, a condition that leads to progressive vision deterioration, decided to learn how to swim. Unable to join in the fun with her brother during a trip to a water park, she started swimming at the age of seven and has followed in the grand tradition of precocious British swimmers.
Ellie Simmonds, who became the first SM6 swimmer to race below three minutes in the 200m medley last Monday, was 13 when she won two golds in Beijing eight years ago. Her performances at London 2012 inspired Robinson, who finished ahead of her hero in Saturday night’s S6 100m final.
“I really didn’t expect to medal,” Robinson said. “I’m so happy because I’ve been able to finish on a high. It’s my last event and I just thought I’m going to give it everything. It’s going to be so weird going back to school, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like.”
A tweet from her classmates at Northampton High School’s sixth form should give her an idea of what to expect: “Ellie, you were amazing today! Well done!! You have inspired so many people and we are so proud of you!”
Hynd has been in the pool for a while. A champion in London, he earned his second gold in Rio 200m when he swam in 2:20.01.
“I’ve been chasing that world record for a while and to get it here is just incredible,” the 21-year-old said. “It’s the biggest stage of all, I’m a bit lost for words. I knew it was going to be close but I’m just really happy that I’ve got a world record. I wanted to come in and smash my best times. I hope that some kids are at home watching this and are inspired by that.”
Russell emulated Hynd’s double gold by winning the S12 50m freestyle in 27.53sec. The 20-year-old is the 100m backstroke champion as well. “I started racing on day seven so I was on the back end of the meet,” she said. “I’ve loved the whole atmosphere.”
Steph Millward’s silver in the women’s SM8 200m individual medley was her fifth medal in these Games. The USA’s Jessica Long was too strong this time. “It’s absolutely amazing,” Millward said. “It means I’m second best in the world in my classification.”
Andrew Mullen won bronze in the S5 100m freestyle. The USA’s Roy Perkins took silver and the noise from the crowd was deafening as Brazil’s Daniel Dias won his fourth gold in Rio.
