Two months ago, Great Britain’s Michael Jones had tragically lost his father when he was preparing for the Rio Paralympic Games in Brazil.
The dedicated swimmer had not imagined that he would have to go through an emotional period just before the most important competition of his career. However, as it turned out, the 22-year old athlete had to keep his emotions together and prepare for Rio 2016.
The swimmer qualified for three events at the Paralympic Games in Rio – Men’s 50m Freestyle S7, Men’s 400m Freestyle S7, and the Men’s 100m Freestyle S7.
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The British athlete was unable to create an impact in his first event at the Games in the Men’s 50m Freestyle event, where he finished 7th in the Finals with a timing of 29.82 seconds. However, Jones’ sole aim at the Games was to perform well for his father.
The swimmer pulled up his socks in his second event, which was the Men’s 400m Freestyle S7, and came away victorious as he bagged the gold medal with a timing of 4:45.78 beating his compatriot Jonathan Fox, in what turned out to be a crucial win of the former’s career.
Jones created one of the best nights of his young career at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio on Wednesday (14 September) as he dedicated the win to his father.
The event saw the two British swimmers dominate the race from start to finish, with Norway's Andreas Bjornstad, coming in at a distant third.
Jones spoke to the Rio Paralympics’ media after the event and said, “It means a lot..to win gold is a dream I have had from a very young age. My dad suddenly passed away with 58 days to go to Rio. So that race was dedicated to him in some ways. It wasn't an easy build-up and at times it was hard to focus. So I had to think about what he would want me to do. So that gold was really for him.”
Jones will also be taking part in the Men’s 100m Freestyle S7 event in Rio tomorrow as he looks to add another medal to his tally.
On a great night for the Great Britain contingent, female swimmer Hannah Russell managed to beat her own world record as she won the women's 100m backstroke S12 event at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
The swimmer ended up with a timing that saw her finish nearly six seconds clear of silver medallist, Ukraine's Yaryna Matlo.
Russell said, “I did that world record a year-and-a-half ago, so to break it again on the world stage is what every athlete dreams of.”
It turned out to be a great night for medal table leaders China, 3rd placed Ukraine, and Spain, as the three countries won three more gold medals each. Belarus's Ihar Boki also added another feather to his cap as he won his ninth Paralympic gold of his career.
The winner of four gold medals and one silver medal from this year’s Games comes from the city of Minsk, and won the gold in the Men's freestyle 50m S13 event.
