Walsall's own Ellie Simmonds lit up the Aquatic Centre once more, crushing the World Record in the Women's 200m Individual Medley in the morning AND again in the final.
And to make it better she's a real Walsall girl at heat. Ellie's constantly 'chuffed' with her performance and, to a Black Country onlooker, it's great to hear.
Simmonds, still 17, was the poster-girl for these games, adding pressure to her plight.
But she's quashed all thoughts of over-hype by claiming double gold, adding to her previous double gold haul in the Beijing Paralympics - when she was just 13.
With four different strokes, the 200m, Individual Medley race takes its time to play out, as people's strengths put them in the lead at different times in the races.
But, when it really counts, there's Simmonds and her motoring past competitors in the final stretch is amazing to see.
She hangs back, like a predator, waiting for the right time to pounce. That time's on the freestyle length. The last length. 50 metres of pure speed. It's the equivalent of seeing Subaru Impreza race past a souped up Vauxhall Nova when Simmonds cruised past Oksana Kruhl to claim the gold, breaking the world record she'd set in the previous heat.
That was all topped off by Telford's Micky Bushell. Told he would probably not ever be able to move, he now moves faster than anyone else in his class, in the world.
He lit up the Olympic stadium, claiming gold in his T53 100m sprint, clocking in at 14.75 seconds he was well ahead of the pack.
Inspirational stuff.
Horsing about
Another GB sport we prosper in - Equestrian activities. That's the horse dancing one.
As you can tell my expertise is limited, but well done all round. Although 11 time Paralympic champion Lee Pearson only (like it's a bad thing) added bronze to his collection, he still had a great day as did Natasha Baker, winning her second gold in 48 hours.
With more to come tomorrow, we can only hope for more GB successes.
No comments:
Post a Comment