Ellie Simmonds records new personal best
Walsall swimming star Ellie Simmonds smashed her personal best time but just missed out on gold at the IPC European Championships.
The 19-year-old secured her second medal of the championships – following on from Monday's gold – in the final of the S6 50m freestyle.
Simmonds clocked a time of 35.23 seconds, beating her previous personal best of 35.76 seconds set in the morning heats – also a new British record – to finish 0.04 seconds behind Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Mereshko.
Olena Fedota bagged bronze, 2.46 seconds adrift at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Stadium in Eindhoven.
It was sweet revenge for Mereshko after she lost to Simmonds in the S6, 400m freestyle on Monday, finishing a full 6.77 seconds behind the World, European and Olympic champion who clocked a time of 5:22.74 seconds to claim her first gold of the event.
Simmonds took the Paralympic Games in Beijing by storm when she won gold in the S6, 100m and 400m freestyle at just 13, breaking her own world record in the 400m.
During the London Olympics she collected a further two gold medals in the 400m freestyle and the 200m individual medley, silver in the 100m freestyle and bronze in the 50m freestyle.
Simmonds has now collected a further 13 gold medals in the IPC World Championships and six golds in the IPC European Championships.
She goes for further gold this week in Holland when she takes part in the 200m individual medley, an event she holds the world record in a time of 3:04.41, the 100m freestyle and the 100m breaststroke.
Other British swimmers to shine on the opening few days included Steph Slater who triumphed in the 100m backstroke S8 final with a time of 1:17.42, Susie Rodgers won the 400m freestyle S7 in 5:22.74, while Amy Marren and Andrew Mullen won silver in the in the 50m freestyle S9, and the 100m freestyle S5 respectively.
