Aldridge Swimmer Tully Kearney claims silver in Paralympic debut
Paralympic debutant Tully Kearney claimed a silver medal for Great Britain on day one of the swimming at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Kearney, from Aldridge, was denied gold in the S5 200m freestyle in heart-breaking fashion after leading throughout before defending champion Zhang Li snatched victory at the last with a winning margin of just 0.12 seconds.
Kearney was forced to withdraw from Rio 2016 because of injury before being reclassified a year later due to the progression of her generalised dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle spasms.
She looked set make up for lost time in the penultimate race as she powered into a healthy lead which, for a long time, was world-record pace.
The 24-year-old tired in the final length and, despite posting a personal best time of 2:46.65, Chinese swimmer Zhang stole the ultimate prize, while fellow Briton Suzanna Hext was fourth.
"There was a question mark over whether I'd ever get to a Paralympic Games and the fact that I've been able to race and come away with a medal is crazy," Kearney said afterwards.
"I thought after Rio, the Paralympics wouldn't be possible, I wouldn't be able to swim any more, so this is obviously a massive deal and it's all down to the amazing support staff, the amazing team – I just swam.
"I've not had that much training, I've been dealing with injuries and things; I was nervous my fitness wouldn't be good enough to swim 200 so to go that close was pretty impressive and I've got to be pleased with that."
