Paris 2024 Paralympics: GB swimmer Stephen Clegg wins second gold medal

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Paris 2024 Paralympics: GB swimmer Stephen Clegg wins second gold medal

Earlier, Alice **** earned her fifth medal of the 2024 Games – and GB’s 31st in the pool – in “one of the silliest races I ever swam” as she won bronze in the women’s S8 100m butterfly on the final day of competition in La Defense Arena.

**** stormed out of the blocks and led by more than a second at the halfway point and by a significant margin with 20 metres remaining.

However, she slowed significantly in the final stages, allowing USA’s Jessica Long to overtake her for gold while Viktoriia Ishchiulova, a Russian competing as a neutral Paralympic athlete, won silver.

****’s GB team-mate Brock Whiston finished fourth.

“It’s probably one of the silliest races I ever swam. My coach told me to feel the first 50m, and it felt really nice,” **** said with a laugh after the race.

“Then it got to the last 20 metres, and it started getting worse and worse to the point where I didn’t care where I finished.

“So to get the bronze is great – my best time this season would have won it so there’s always that bit in the back of my mind, but honestly I’m tired after this week.”

**** has been one of Britain’s most successful athletes at these Games with two gold medals – in the S8 50m freestyle and SB13 100m breaststroke – a silver and now two bronzes.

It is a significant return for the 25-year-old, who had her lower leg amputated in 2022 after years of constant pain, and essentially had to relearn to swim.

She admitted the fatigue of the week caught up with her in the final few metres of her last race in Paris.

“With my [butterfly], it’s a real mixed bag – sometimes I go out like that and I’m OK coming back,” **** said. “But I’m really fatigued, mentally after the 50m freestyle I shut down, I’m done.

“I’m happy with all my performances, I know I couldn’t have done more in that race. I’m happy, and excited to go home.”

**** can also look back on these Games much more fondly than her previous experience at Rio 2016, where she had suicidal thoughts as she struggled with undiagnosed ADHD.

“A lot of my friends are commenting on how much happier I am, they can see it,” the seven-time Paralympic medallist said.

“I got two medals in Rio, and I went up to my room and just cried. I put a face on for the media, but deep down I was **********, didn’t want to be there, didn’t want to be alive.

“Now I can say I have enjoyed every day – even rubbish swims like that, I’m genuinely happy with third and a swim four seconds off my best.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, Faye Rogers finished fourth in the women’s 200m SM10 individual medley.

Rogers, who won 100m butterfly gold earlier this week, is a world bronze medallist in this event and led after the first leg – her favoured butterfly *******.

However, she fell down the field as the race progressed as Zhang Meng of China took gold.

In the morning heats, Iona Winnifrith, the youngest member of the ParalympicsGB squad, ******* to make it through to the final after finishing 10th quickest in the women’s S7 50m butterfly heats.

Winnifrith, 13, won a silver medal in the SB7 100m breaststroke earlier in her debut Games.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Paris #Paralympics #swimmer #Stephen #Clegg #wins #gold #medal

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up