Last weekend, Tonbridge Swimming Club’s (TSC) Junior Para Swimmer Iona Winnifrith (12) had a fantastic weekend of racing at the South East Regional Winter Swimming Championships.
In her first competition as a S7 para swimmer, having recently been reclassified, she exceeded all expectations. At these championships para swimmers race alongside all other competitors in the events. Their own swim time is compared against the current world record in their own classification category and points are allocated on this basis. This means that para swimmers of all different classifications can be compared to each other based on the points scored. This is known as Multi-Classification racing (MC).
The highlight of her very successful weekend was the new British Para Record she set in the S7 category in 100m Breaststroke (subject to ratification by British Swimming). An awesome swim by this great role model who improves each time she races.
Iona raced in six events and swam to five new Personal Bests (PBs). She set six new South East Region, six Kent and one British S7 records.
She also brought home a swag of medals having won three Gold medals in MC 200 Individual Medley with a six second PB, MC 50 Fly and in MC 100 Breaststroke with a 4.5 second PB. A Silver medal in MC 50 Freestyle with a two second PB. She also won Bronzes in MC 100 Backstroke with a huge 10 second PB and MC 100 Freestyle with an almost four second PB.
Iona is currently part of the Swim England Para Talent Pathway and gives her all in all opportunities that come her way. Iona is a dedicated swimmer who trains consistently well and is a true inspiration for all Team TSC Members.
