Heather Frederiksen (Salford, S8) and Eleanor Simmonds (Swansea Performance, S6) have lowered the world records in their classification on a day of excellent swimming at the British Gas Swimming Championships 2009.
Simmonds, the double Paralympic champion, swam an excellently timed race in the women’s 400m Freestyle and lowered the S6 world record after touching with a time of 5:31.44 and took the gold medal with 1092 points.
“I didn't feel like I was going that fast but I hit 200m and just felt so exhausted,” Simmonds said. “That was such hard work. I don't know how I managed to get back. It’s all a bit of a surprise, I felt more relaxed than I did in Beijing and that time is just so amazing.”
Frederiksen lowered the S8 world record in her heat for the women’s 400m Freestyle with a time of 4:45.67 and went into the final hungry for more success. She touched home in a time of 4:47.08 to take the silver medal with a point score of 1004.
“The world record was my aim coming into this event,” Frederiksen said. “It was Jess Long’s world record so I am happy to have broken it. My training has been going well although it has been a bit on and off since Beijing. My Granddad died at the beginning of the year and that was for him.”
The bronze medal went to Wyre Forest’s Francesca O’Connor with a new British record time of 5:49.15 and a total of 749 points.
In the final of the women’s 100m Breaststroke, Paralympian Charlotte Henshaw (Stirling Swimming, S6) swam well to take the national title with a good swim and finished in a time of 1:25.23 and took a total of 845 points.
Paralympic bronze medallist Claire Cashmore (S8) took the silver medal with a time of 1:26.98 and a total of 795 points
Louise Watkin (Kelly College, S9) fought hard to lower the British record with an impressive swim. Watkin was pushed all the way by Bath University’s Kate Grey. Watkin took the bronze medal after finishing in a time of 1:25.23 and took a total of 735 points.
