Teenager Iona Winnifrith takes breaststroke silver in Paris
The 13-year-old is ParalympicsGB’s youngest squad member.
British swimmer Iona Winnifrith continued a day of teenage dreams at the Paris Paralympics by winning 100m breaststroke silver aged just 13.
Hours after 14-year-old table tennis player Bly Twomey won her second bronze of the Games, the youngest member of ParalympicsGB’s squad secured her own podium place.
The schoolgirl from Kent touched the wall in a lifetime best of one minute and 29.69 seconds in the SB7 race at La Defense Arena.
Russian Mariia Pavlova, who had been fastest in qualifying, enjoyed sweet success in a world-record time of one minute and 26.09 secs.
Winnifrith grew up idolising five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds.
She is just over five months younger than Simmonds was when she claimed her first title at Beijing in 2008.
“I’m really happy with that performance and getting a silver medal at 13 is really cool,” said Winnifrith.
“I spoke with my coach (and the plan was) just try and keep up with the girls all the way through and then power it through the last length.
“As much as I wanted that gold, I just knew I had to fight for it, and that’s what I did. I’m really proud.”
Winnifrith is Britain’s youngest Paralympic swimming medallist since Scottish athlete Abby Kane claimed S13 backstroke silver at Rio 2016, six weeks after her 13th birthday.
