Rio 2016 Paralympics: Bethany Firth wins gold for Great Britain four years after doing it for Ireland
Bethany Firth became backstroke champion for Britain last night in Rio – four years after winning the title for Ireland.
The 20-year-old from Seaforde in County Down, Northern Ireland, defended her S14 100m backstroke crown on a stellar opening night of swimming for the British squad.
In total, there were seven medals in the pool. Firth and Ollie Hynd (S8 400m freestyle) were the two gold medallists. There were also silvers for Jonathan Fox and Harriet Lee, as well as bronzes for Andrew Mullen, Stephanie Millward and Jessica-Jane Applegate.
Firth broke the world record twice yesterday, first in qualifying and then lowering the mark to 1:04.05 in the final.
Firth, who has a learning difficulty which causes short-term memory loss, made the switch in December 2013 purely for social reasons.
She said: “This feel amazing, I’m so happy. I have my whole family, my mum and dad, grandparents, brothers, and sisters, everyone is here, apart from my dog.
“I have trained so hard for this. I had a setback with my wrist injury (she broke it last year), but I am glad I could retain my title.”
