Kearney claims double gold to close 2015 IPC Worlds
Tully Kearney brought the curtain down on her breakthrough international meet with double gold on the final day of the Glasgow 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships at Tollcross.
The 18-year old has announced herself as one to watch at next year’s Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with a six-medal haul in Scotland, including four golds.
Having won the S9 100m Butterfly and S9 400m Freestyle titles earlier in the meet, Kearney returned to the top of the podium with victories in the SM9 200m Individual Medley and alongside Alice Tai, Claire Cashmore and Susie Rodgers in the 34pt 4x100m Medley Relay.
Jessica-Jane Applegate also won gold in the S14 100m Backstroke and Glasgow-born Andrew Mullen took S5 100m Freestyle bronze as the British Para-Swimming team finished the competition on 32 medals.
Having been reclassified from S10 earlier this season, Kearney has been a revelation in the S9 classification at these Championships and lowered the European record in both heats and final of the SM9 200m Individual Medley.
After a heat swim of 2:32.94, Kearney took gold in 2:31.08, touching more than seven seconds clear of China’s silver medallist Lin Ping (2:38.91) with Ireland’s Ellen Keane (2:40.31) claiming bronze.
“I can’t believe it,” said Kearney, who is now the second fastest SM9 200m Individual Medley swimmer in history behind 13-time Paralympic gold medallist Natalie Du Toit. “Even the first gold hasn’t sunk in yet. It just doesn’t feel real. It was a PB tonight but, if I’m honest, I want to go quicker. But I guess I can do that next time.
“Natalie Du Toit is obviously and amazing woman and her world records are rapid but I see them as a goal to aim towards in the future."
The British women’s relay were made to work hard to defend their world title with Rodgers ultimately holding on in the anchor leg to bring them home in 4:52.89 - just 0.99 ahead of Australia.
And Cashmore admitted a narrow victory over the Australians felt particularly good, having been part of the British quartet who lost out to them by less than 0.1 seconds at London 2012.
"We looked at the Australian team and thought it would be a tough ask to win tonight," said Cashmore.
"But after they beat us by 0.02 seconds in London, I was definitely hungry – and i think these girls were too – to get that gold medal. So we just went in there and gave it our best shot and we’re so happy to come away with gold again."
After silvers in the S14 200m Freestyle and SM14 200m Individual Medley, Applegate collected her first gold of the meet with a surprise victory in the S14 100m Backstroke.
Despite bronze medals at both the 2013 World Championships and last year's European Championships, few were expecting the 18-year old to come storming through in the last 25m of the race to take the touch by 0.05 seconds with a PB 1:06.75 as Russia’s European champion and fastest qualifier Valeriia Shabalina (1:06.80) lost out in the stretch for the wall.
"I wasn’t even meant to be on the podium," said Applegate. "I can’t believe what’s just happened – I’m not even a backstroker. It means everything to me. This year has been tough and I felt like nothing has been going my way.
"I knew that if I put everything into it, I might get on to the podium again but not with gold! After I was beaten on Monday, I said to my coach I just really want it so bad and I just put everything into that race."
Mullen collected his fourth medal from five events to cap a memorable week in the pool where he learned to swim.
The 18-year old knocked more than a second off his PB as he came home in 1:16.68 for bronze in the S5 100m Freestyle, touching behind Brazil’s Daniel Dias (1:15.96) and USA’s Roy Perkins (1:15.96).
Ellie Simmonds was desperately close to scooping her fifth medal of the Championships as she finished fourth in the S6 100m Freestyle.
The 20-year old was locked in a stroke-for-stroke battle with Australia’s Tiffany Thomas Kane throughout the second 50m, with the Australian ultimately taking bronze by 0.1 seconds in 1:15.05 ahead of Simmonds’ 1:15.15 as both trailed Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Mereshko’s world record 1:12.21.
James Crisp was also agonisingly denied a medal on the final day as he touched just 0.47 seconds shy of the podium, clocking 2:21.93 for fourth in the SM9 200m Individual Medley, while Sascha Kindred was sixth in the S6 100m Freestyle in 1:10.16.
