Britain's Heather Frederiksen swam away with the Women's 100m Backstroke S8 title today in the Water Cube. American Jessica Long claimed the silver with Mariann Vestbostad won the bronze.
Heather Frederiksen smashed her own world record to take gold in the women's 100m backstroke (S8) at the Beijing Paralympic Games today, finishing in 1:16.74, nearly three seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Frederiksen won silver on day two but declared nothing’s better than gold after demolishing her world mark for the second time today.
"It can't get any better than getting a gold medal,” said the Lancashire swimmer. “It makes all the pain and hard work worth it. I thought the feeling of getting the silver was good but this has surpassed it.”
Frederiksen took another second off the time she swam this morning with a commanding display that left her rivals in her wake, including Britain’s Rachael Latham who was fifth.
It was the end of a remarkable journey for Frederiksen who was told a few years ago that she would never be able to swim again.
"It was really hard to adjust,” she said. “I had to accept I had a disability and then had to learn to swim again. I do compare my times from when I was able-bodied to my times now. But that was then and this is what is happening now.
"All the anger I had, I get rid of in the pool. I proved the people wrong who said I wouldn't swim again. Now I have my gold, and it feels amazing."
Frederiksen’s performance sealed a rich night for British swimmers who won four medals in all as three of GB’s talented teenagers came of age.
