Golden girl leads medal haul

It was another golden day at the 2012 Paralympic Games for NSWIS swimmer Jacqueline Freney, while four more NSWIS athletes won medals in the pool.

Already a gold medallist from day one of competition, day two saw Freney line up in the women’s S7 50m butterfly. A stellar heat meant Freney set a new Oceania record in the event, before an even better final had Freney clocking another Oceania record and her second gold medal in as many days.

The medal rush didn’t stop there, with Taylor Corry, Andrew Pasterfield, Tim Antalfy and Maddison Elliott all winning medals. Corry won silver in the women’s S14 100m backstroke; Pasterfield took bronze in the men’s S10 50m freestyle; Antalfy won bronze in the men’s S13 100m butterfly, and 13 year old Elliott made it a trio of bronze medallists with her performance in the women’s S8 400m freestyle. In winning bronze, and setting a new personal best time by over 19 seconds, Elliott became Australia’s youngest ever Paralympic medallist. 

A further five NSWIS swimmers competed on day two; Matthew Levy finished fourth in the men’s S9 50m butterfly; Michael Auprince achieved the same result in the men’s S9 100m backstroke; Mitchell Kilduff finished 14th in the men’s S14 100m backstroke; Kara Leo finished 14th in the women’s S14 100m backstroke, and Sean Russo clocked an eighth place finish in the men’s S13 100m butterfly.

The NSWIS medal tally now stands at two gold, one silver and four bronze medals after just two days of competition.

Several other NSWIS athletes were in action overnight, including wheelchair track & road stars Kurt Fearnley and Christie Dawes, who both progressed to the final of the men’s and women’s T54 5000m event, respectively. Fellow NSWIS athlete Kristy Pond finished 11th in the women’s T34 100m.

Elsewhere, Beijing silver medallist Kathryn Ross progressed to the repechage of the mixed double sculls rowing event, while Jenny Blow, Tyan Taylor and Michelle Rzepecki began their campaign with a narrow 1-3 loss to Japan in the women’s goalball.

The day ended on a positive note as the Australian men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams, each featuring four NSWIS athletes, recorded victories over Turkey and Great Britain, respectively.