Back to back Golds for flying Applegate
Jessica-Jane Applegate put in another dominant display to secure her second gold medal in as many days at the World Para Swimming European Open Championships in Madeira.
Fresh from success in the Women’s S14 200m Freestyle on the opening night, Applegate – who trains under Alex Pinniger – was in even greater control on the way to victory in the S14 100m Backstroke, leading from the first stroke to the wall. (S14 is the intellectual impairment class)
That result looked to be on the cards after the morning’s heats, but the two-time Paralympian showed she had even more to give in the final, shaving more than a second off her heats time to secure a first European title in this event, well clear of Germany’s Janina Breuer in second.
It is a performance that looks set to boost Applegate’s belief for the rest of the week and moving into a massive summer.
“I really struggled on the 200m Freestyle for fitness, and my backstroke has always been hit-and-miss. So I’m super happy – that’s up there with my best times, so I’m really happy with that time,” said Jessica Jane Applegate.
Jessica Jane continued: “It’s a massive confidence boost, because I don’t normally train backstroke, so I’ll probably work on that a bit more going forward! Like I said yesterday, training has been really tough, it’s great to see these times without much training, so I can’t wait to see what Tokyo can hold.
“I’ve spent a lot of time training in a swim spa outside. It’s been tough, but mentally, I think if I can deal with that challenge, I can deal with anything else.”
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Rescheduled from 12 months ago, the European Championships will provide athletes from across the continent with performance and classification opportunities relevant to them, three months out from the start of Tokyo 2020.
The competition runs from 16th-22nd May.
Race results and schedules are available HERE, while a live stream of the event will be running on World Para Swimming’s Facebook channel and website throughout the meet.
Britain’s eight-strong team, managed by British Swimming are:
Abby Kane, Stephanie Millward, Ellie Robinson – all medallists at Rio 2016 – and Northampton SC’s Will Perry will look to put in strong swims while undergoing the classification process across the meet.
Tom Hamer and Jessica-Jane Applegate – both earned two golds at the 2018 Europeans in Dublin. Both are progressing their competition preparations, with the Madeira event part of their agreed performance programmes ahead of Tokyo.
Mikey Jones (S7) and Conner Morrison (SB14) both narrowly missed out on consideration times in their respective favoured events of the 400m Freestyle and 100m Breaststroke at last month’s British Para-Swimming International Meet – and this European opportunity could provide a perfect chance for the pair to go under the standards to put them in contention for a spot in Paralympics GB’s squad when selections are confirmed later in the year.
Story courtesy of British Swimming.
Published 17 May 2021