Paralympic gold medallists Ellie Cole and Tiffany Thomas Kane, along with young emerging swimmer Jake Michel, have continued Australia’s positive performance in the pool on the second night of the 2019 World Para Swimming World Series.
More than 15 years after she began swimming in Frankston, Cole (S9) claimed her first international gold medal in her home town, taking home the top honour in the Women’s 100m Backstroke Multi-Class.
Recording a time of 1:11.08, the inspirational local edged out fellow Australian Katja Dedekind (S13) (1:09.87) who took home the silver medal in front of France’s Anaelle Roulet (S10) (1:10.56).
Claiming the title in her home state was a memorable moment for Cole, who dedicated her victory to a very special guest in the stands.
“I had my niece here tonight and I promised her I’d win gold, obviously it’s out of my hands, so she’s going to be really excited when I take it upstairs and put it around her neck – hopefully I’ve inspired a future Olympian here tonight, being my niece, no pressure!” Cole laughed.
“Having the World Para Series here for the first time is really special, and I think it’s opened the eyes of many Victorians of what Para-swimming is about, which is why I love to swim.
“To be here in front of people that I grew up around is really special and to still be swimming 17 years after I started at the same pool is amazing.”
In the Men’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class, 21-year-old Michel (SB14), was the man to beat, recording a time of 1:07.36 to take gold, while Thomas Kane collected her second gold of the meet. After finishing on top of the podium last night in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke Multi-Class, she also added the Women’s 100m Breaststroke Multi-Class title to her list of achievements.
“I’m really happy with that race. Coming into this meet, I didn’t know how well I was going to go but to get the time I did and the gold medal in my main event, I’m really happy,” Thomas Kane said.
“I’ve got my mum and my coach here, so having them behind me made me swim faster.”
Our Aussies continued to gather momentum on night two of the competition, with Rio Paralympic gold medallist Timothy Disken (S9) taking home silver in the Men’s 50m Freestyle Multi-Class and Rachael Watson (S4) receiving bronze in the corresponding event for the women.
An elated Disken, who also hails from Melbourne, said he was excited to be competing at an international level in Australia.
“It’s really fantastic to be back on the global stage back in Australia after the Commonwealth Games last year.
“We’ve got our 2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships coming up in a few months’ time, and I’m hoping for a spot on the World Champs team and trying and compete against the rest of the world again.
“I want to be the best athlete I can be and be really ready to take on the rest of the world in Tokyo in 2020.”
All six events tonight were swum as multi-class races, meaning athletes from all classifications competed in the same event, with the Para-swimmer recording a time closest to their class world record crowned the winner.
The final day’s action kicks off tomorrow at 9:00am when the Men’s and Women’s 50m Butterfly events begin.
Photos courtesy of Martin Philbey Photography.
