16th Aug 2010: Women's 200m Individual Medley SM9 - SILVER
Having the second fastest time in the heats for the Women's 200m Individual Medley SM9 event yesterday, Louise powered on to second place in the finals, a few seconds behind world record holder, Natalie du Toit (South Africa).
In 8th place after the first lap (Butterfly), Louise pulled up to 5th place after the second lap (Backstroke), then made a tremendous push forward to second place in the Breaststroke lap, holding it for the final Freestyle lap and gaining a personal best time of 2:37.71, a 0.81s improvement on her qualifying time, and winning her second place and a Silver medal.
Louise said, "I am slightly disappointed with my Butterfly leg because it didn't go as well as this morning, but I still got a PB in that race and I feel good with that and my medal."
Watch Louise's stupendous effort on YouTube: ParalympicSportTV.
16th Aug 2010: Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay - SILVER
Louise was part of the GB team who won silver in this event, alongside team-mates Claire Cashmore (an ex-Kelly swimmer), World Champion Eleanor Simmonds and Stephanie Millward. The team came in with a new British record time of 4:29.49.
Louise said, "It was a really good swim from the whole team. We went under the world record time but we didn't get the gold this time. Everyone swam faster than they did this morning, which is a real positive. I am pleased with my leg of the relay and, after a really long day, I am happy to come away with both of the medals."
National Performance Director, John Atkinson, commented, "We came into the second day of the competition understanding that it would be a day when we had to work really hard to win medals. That proved to be the case. However, the 6 medals that we did win were hard fought and the spirit of the team remained good to the final two relays of the night. The girls' relay was a good way to end the evening They came away with a silver and a British record which was under the old world record. They worked well together and it was a positive way to end the evening."
17th Aug 2010: Women's 100m Breaststroke SB9 - SILVER
Louise had the second fastest time in the heats, with a time of 1:23.43, just 0.14 seconds behind Harriet Lee (GB). She was then narrowly beaten by Harriet in the final with a time of 1:20.96, to pick up the Silver medal.
17th Aug 2010: Women's 100m Freestyle S9 - BRONZE
Louise gained a Bronze medal with a time of 1:04.05, just 0.2 seconds behind runner-up Stephanie Millward (GB) and 1.26 seconds behind winner, Natalie due Toit of South Africa (current world record holder).
19th Aug 2010: Women's 50m Freestyle S9 - GOLD
This was the first race today to feature British athletes, with Louise Watkin ranked first for the final, and hopes were raised for a good start to the night.
Having the fastest time in the heats (29.79), Louise was lined up in the final next to South African world record holder, Natalie du Toit, who had beaten her twice this week, and the British record holder was fired up for success. Louise got a good start and looked on course for victory from the 25m mark. She touched in 29.26 and commented after the race, "I am just speechless. This was such an amazing feeling and I just don't wantit to end. I saw her at the halfway point and just wanted to make sure I beat her. Everything just went right tonight and I couldn't be happier right now."
Louise won with a time of 29.26, 0.39 seconds ahead of Natalie, and just 0.22 seconds off the world record.
National Performance Director, John Atkinson, commented, "It was great to see Louise Watkin beat Paralympic Champion Natalie du Toit in the 50m Freestyle. It was an awesome effort from her and it showed how she held her nerve to win her first gold in the face of a tough challenge."
Watch Louise's amazing win on ParalympicSport.TV
To round off a successful week, Louise, who has just turned 18, has gained Distinctions in all the modules of her BTEC National Diploma in Sport (Performance & Excellence).
More on the IPC World Swimming Championships:
- IPC Swimming site
A live stream of the competitions will be available every day. The daily live stream will include all heats from 9:00 – 12:00 Central European Time and all finals from 17:00 – 21:00 Central European Time. - Highlights clips will also be posted on YouTube ParalympicSportTV
- Channel 4, the official broadcaster of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, will also offer a live stream on their website at www.ipc-swimming.org
- To find the qualification rankings for IPC Swimming, visit www.ipc-swimming.org/rankings/
- Become a fan of the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IPCSwimming