Tokyo Paralympics 2021 - Britain's Tully Kearney smashes world record to win S5 100m freestyle swimming gold
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Updated 26/08/2021 at 12:18 GMT
The 24-year-old suffered heartbreak in the S5 200m freestyle on the opening day of competition, settling for silver when she was pipped at the finish. But Kearney responded by knocking two seconds off the previous best mark in her category to win her first Paralympic title ahead of China's Zhang Li.
Tully Kearney claimed Britain's first swimming gold of the Tokyo Paralympics
Image credit: Getty Images
Britain's Tully Kearney made up for heartbreak on the opening day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics by smashing the world record to win gold in the S5 100m freestyle.
The 24-year-old was pipped at the finish by China's Zhang Li in the 200m, but she responded the following day with an emphatic victory in the pool.
Kearney knocked two seconds off her own previous world record, touching for home in 1:14.39 ahead of Zhang.
The multiple world champion, who was born with cerebral palsy, has been a leading voice on dystonia, a progressive neurological movement disorder. She has regularly dealt with injuries, most notably with her shoulder, and she was forced to withdraw from Rio 2016 on the evening of the previous Games.
But now she has turned her dominance on the circuit to gold at the Paralympics, and she admits it has been a long time coming.
"I was quite frustrated in myself for how I swam the race yesterday," she told Channel 4.
"I was aiming for a world record in the 200 and unfortunately through the injuries I just didn’t have the fitness to hold on. Today, I was absolutely determined that no-one was going to beat me. I felt rubbish but I just decided I was going to go out there and leave it all in the pool, and it worked.
"It was so worth it, I’ve got so many people to thank. My mum, if it wasn’t for her...after Rio I was told for the second time I would never be able to swim again because of shoulders and my physical limitations.
"For me at that point, I didn’t even want to try and swim again because I thought it’s better not to try.
If it wasn’t for her, forcing me to get back in, not to this level but just to know that I could physically swim, if it wasn’t for her I would not have pushed and been able to get that level. It’s something no-one thought would be possible.
"19 days ago I was in so much pain with my shoulders that we didn’t think I’d be able to race or be physically fit. It hasn’t sunk in yet."
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