Britain's Poppy Maskill Secures Third Gold at Paris Paralympics
Great Britain's Poppy Maskill has won her third gold medal at the Paris Paralympics. She achieved this honor by winning the women's S14 100m backstroke event. This is prepared by SSP.
At just 19 years old, Maskill continued her impressive performance following her previous wins. She had already clinched two gold medals and two silvers earlier in the competition.
Despite trailing Valeriia Shabalina at the halfway point of the race, Maskill fought back decisively. She finished with a time of one minute 5.74 seconds. Fellow British swimmer Olivia Newman-Baronius won the bronze medal in the same event.
This victory elevated ParalympicsGB's gold medal count in Paris to 41, matching their total from the Tokyo Games three years prior.
Maskill expressed mixed emotions about her performance, stating, "I was a little bit annoyed because it was not a personal best, but it was still a gold so I can't be too annoyed." She added, "I'm obviously happy with my medals as they are a great achievement, but I'm slightly disappointed in my time because I know I can be better."
Holding five medals, Maskill is now the most decorated ParalympicsGB athlete in these games. "I would have thought it would be Alice [Tai] or someone else. It feels great," she remarked.
This latest gold comes on the heels of her earlier wins in the 100m S14 butterfly and the mixed 4x100m S14 freestyle relay. Maskill also earned silvers in both the 200m freestyle S14 and the 200m individual medley S14 events.
Earlier in the competition, 17-year-old Mark Tompsett won a bronze medal in the men's S14 100m backstroke. Maisie Summers-Newton also contributed to Team GB's success, adding a bronze medal in the women's S6 400m freestyle to her earlier two gold medals from these Games.